Through shattered glass
by Docasherloki
Summary: (Asgardian Horror Story) After The Avengers loki is sentenced to prison, but soon he suspects that he's not alone in his / He starts to see things, strange things...he can't tell the differences between dream and reality anymorebr / something is very wrong…
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Thor's eyes was filled with disappointment as he gazed at Loki. That stupid oaf probably just realized what Loki really was, a monster. No matter how much he tried to do things right, it always turned out to be wrong, actions by a monster. Loki looked down on his feets and felt the powerless frustration of hopelessness. But that didn't mean he had given up.

He was still fighting, some how...?

The only thing left inside him was these two feelings, Rage and sorrow. Along with the rage, there was vengefulness, hate and malignity. Along with the sorrow there was regret, guilt, sadness and angst. The rage and the sorrow were fighting each other and for now the rage had the upper hand.

Loki has been defeated by the Avengers, but he didn't feel defeated. _Defeated is when you no longer has hope, when you're on the edge of death._ he thought when Thor along with Loki, by the power of the tesseract returned to Asgard.

 _I'm not defeated i'm not defeated i'm NOT defeated I. am. not. defeated!_ He kept thinking as the guards took him to the throne. As they walked through the golden halls of the palace Loki could see people point and laugh as they saw Loki the betrayer, the runt, the monster. Loki looked down again, embarrassed and shy as always in front of the Asgardian people. He cursed himself for acting so weak.

Loki was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't realize they had stopped walking.

Then he finally managed to look from the floor. Loki's gaze fell upon his mother who stood next to the throne where Odin sat. _She is NOT my mother…_ he corrected himself, but it hurt a bit to realize Frigga actually never was his mother.

"Loki..." She said as she saw him look at her

"Hello, mother. Have I made you proud?" Loki responded. He smiled ironically

"Please, don't make this worse." Frigga sighed sadly. Loki flinched slightly as he saw the sorrow in her eyes, in that moment he could tell she knew something. something bad, something bad that was going to happen or already happened.

" _Define worse."_ Loki said bitterly. He could hardly see how this situation could be worse right now. He would probably be executed or be put in jail for lifetime.

"Enough! I will speak to the prisoner alone." Odin barked as he heard the mother and son arguing. everything fell silent as Frigga turned to leave In silence. The queen left the throne room.

 _This is it… this is now he'll sentence me to death or a lifetime in prison, all this because of some tiny crimes which shouldn't even be seen as crimes, they should be seen as favors!_ Loki thought as the guard pushed him closer to the Allfather. Loki looked his _father_ in the eye for a while and then burst out laughing.

"I really don't see what all the fuss is about!" Loki chuckled.

"Do you not truly feel the gravity of your crimes? Wherever you go there is war, ruin and death." Odin said coldly as he gazed upon his son.

Loki shouldn't be affected, but now he couldn't stop doubting on himself. _what if he was right, what if war, ruin and death is the only thing i can provide?_ _But i was trying to help those mere mortals, to rule them and give them a leader.. isn't that what they want, isn't that a good thing? Or am i the bad guy now?_

"I wanted to rule the people of Earth as a benevolent God, just like you!" Loki tried. He tried really hard not to show the panic which has began to grow in him.

"We are not Gods. We are born, we live, we die, just as humans do." Odin responded. speaking of death, soon all of this is going to be over anyway.

"Give or take five thousand years." Loki said as he realized he might get in prison too. That would be much worse though… Odin on the other hand, was losing patience. "All this because Loki desires a throne." The Allfather sighed. Loki was now losing patience as well. "It's my birthright!" Loki barked in self defense.

"Your birthright was to die…as a child!" Odin's voice boomed and Loki flinched, dumbfounded. "…Cast out onto a frozen rock. If I had not taken you in you would not be here now to hate me." Odin continued coldly.

Loki shouldn't be affected now either, but the thought of his once called "father" not even trying to care for his adopted son.. but why should he? Odin never loved him, not when he used to read stories for him and Thor when the were young, not when Odin learned him how to use a sword, even if it was pointless, not even when he saved Odin's life by killing his _real_ father, the frostgiant who was about to slay Odin in the Odinsleep. Odin never loved Loki, He only kept Loki as a tool which was not even going to be used.

Loki took a deep breath and tried to focus.

"If I had fully asked for true mercy, I'd say just swing it. It's not that I don't love our little talks, it's just…I don't love them." He said in an attempt to show he wasn't afraid, which of course he was, who wouldn't? "Frigga is the only reason you are still alive and you will never see her again. You will spend the rest of your days in the dungeon." Odin said.

Loki took a few steps back, not surprised, but upset and a little dumbfounded again. Loki put himself together. "And what of Thor? You'll make that witless oaf king while I rot in chains?" Oh how he wished he could claw Thor's bright blue eyes out of his sweet little skull. Thor.. Loki wanted to vomit at the thought of that spoiled brat he once used to call _brother._

"Thor must strive to undo the damage you have done, he will bring order to the Nine Realms and then, yes, he will be king." Odin said calmly. The alfather watched as the guards took his adoptive son away to his cell deep down in Asgards safest prison. Never has a prisoner escaped those thick walls.

As soon as Loki and the guards left, Odin broke his shallow mask and collapsed on his throne. Frigga rushed in and reached her husband as he sighed heavily.

"d-did you tell him?" Frigga asked anxiously as she grabbed Odin's hand and squeezed it gently. Odin slowly rose his heavy head and looked his wife in the eyes. Odin's eyes was filled with bitterness as he shook his head tiredly. Frigga embraced Odin and started to sob slightly.

"Ohhh what should we do? how should we tell him? and how will he take it?" She said through her sobs and Odin caressed her cheek gently.

"i'm sorry my love but i'm only aware of what has to be done" odin said...


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Loki woke up to his third day in prison. he yawned and slowly rose up from bed. All though, this place wasn't _that_ bad. He still was a prince after all and the guards had treated him well for so long. His room was wide and clear, he had a little bed and a table with some books above. Every day at 12.00 am and 06:00 pm they served him warm food.

Without his books Loki would probably die of boredness in here. He could imagine what a wreckage he would be without any entertaining at all for the rest of his sad little life. Sometimes he's thankful for the affluent treatment they give him, but then he always ask himself why he should be thankful for being in prison, he didn't deserve it!

He deserved the throne!

Loki dressed himself and brushed his hair with his fingers, he hate being dirty but he had no chance to take a shower in here. The thought of never being able to shower again was so disgusting he wanted to scream, but he stayed silent. he was not the screaming type.

Thor on the other hand would probably just scream of looking himself in the mirror in the morning. Loki chuckled at the thought but was cut off when his eyes fell upon the mirror.

He frowned and walked closer to get a proper look at the mirror. The mirror was broken…

How the hell could it be broken? It's impossible! But somehow, it happened. He suddenly felt a slight pain under his feets, he realized his mistake and quickly stepped aside. Looking down where he earlier stood, he guessed he must have stepped on the shattered glass on the floor below the mirror. His feets was now bleeding but he didn't care. The only thing he cared about was how the mirror possibly could have broke when no one else but Loki was present in the cell. Not that only, but also had the mirror been intact just a few minutes ago, Loki remembered using it earlier.

 _How...How did this happened?_ He couldn't think of anything else…

* * *

In Vanaheim, Sif, Fandral, Volstagg and Hogun are battling an army of invaders when Thor suddenly makes his entrance and with one swing of his hammer Mjolnir, knocking out some of the invaders. Sif hated when Thor took the honor himself by _helping_ them as he called it, as if they weren't strong enough! They didn't need help!

"I've got this completely under control!" Sif hissed. Thor glanced at the Goddess Of War and gave her a crooked smile.

"Is that why everything's on fire?" Thor grinned and Sif rolled her eyes.

They all continued to battle it out further with the invaders when Sif managed to use her shield to stop the spear thrown to kill Thor. Thor turned around to look at Sif. She noticed he didn't even thank her and she sighed again.

"You're welcome." Sif said to him.

When they continued the battle Thor glanced at Sif again and gave her a wide smile this time, she couldn't help but smile back. _Oh Thor you fool_! In the midst of the battle suddenly a giant stone creature stomped towards Thor, Sif and the warriors three, it even knocked one warrior out on it's way. Sif glared at Thor. _If you're so strong and we're so weak, then knock this one out._

"All yours." Sif smirked at Thor. Thor only shrugged and turned to face the creature. As the giant creature reached Thor it roared loudly and the invaders cheered, Thor took a step closer to it with his crooked smile on his lips again. _Gods! he's so handsome when he does that…!_ Sif thought as she watched Thor facing the monster.

"Hello." Thor smiled.

The creature leaned down and roared again as the invaders cheered, screamed, mocked and scoffed once again. Thor Smiled again as he looked around.

"I accept your surrender." He said confidently.

The invaders laughed at Thor's words, but then Thor starts wielding Mjolnir. He threw it at the creature, destroyed it in one blow. Everyone fell silent and all eyes was now on Thor.

"Anyone else?" Thor asked and gazed on everyone surrounding him, almost as he searched for volunteers. Sif chuckled for herself as the invaders starts to throwing their weapons down and knelt down before Thor. "Perhaps next time we should _start_ with the big one." Fandral mocked friendly.

Thor sighed and smiled as he and his friends returned to Asgard with the new prisoners they captured during the fight. It was time to celebrate their victory!

* * *

 _October the 5th_

 _Dear pathetic diary, this is my seventh day in prison. As always, i'm extremely bored, extremely restless and a little concerned about the broken mirror._

 _It's just so weird how the glass could be broken when nothing broked it._

 _Maybe was it just a stupid prank someone played to scare me?_

 _The pranksters must be very incompetent to believe_

 _a broken mirror would scare me!_

 _But the broken mirror-mystery is not the only problem though,_

 _the real problem is why the guards haven't exchange it to a new one!_

 _Why haven't they done that?_

 _Asgard is full of mirrors,_

 _they could at least sacrifice one of them for the prince of Asgard's sake._

 _Maybe they thought me too unworthy to even have my own mirror,_

 _I bet they do!_

 _...What if i am unworthy then? What if they're wright? No, whatever…_

 _i don't care of what i am or not am anymore…_

 _But still, the guards are pretty daft to leave me with all that shattered glass like this,_

 _i could use them to esca…_ _no, i can't, i can't either dig me out from here or cut the wall down,_

 _it's impossible to break these walls, no. But i could use a piece of glass to cut myself with and then they'll take me to the healers and when they do,_

 _i'll just escape and run away to never come back._

 _That's actually a good plan..._

Loki closed his diary and glanced at the shattered glass on the floor. A plan had now began to take form in his head…

* * *

As Thor reached Asgard along with his friends and the prisoners, they immediately took the prisoners to asgards prison. Thor on the other hand reached his father instead for following his friends. Thor walked up to Odin as he watched the Asgardian soldiers train.

"Is Vanaheim secure?" Odin asked without looking up.

"As are Nornheim and Ria, though our work would have gone more quickly with you in form." Thor reassured his father. Odin continued to watch the battles below.

"You must think I'm a piece of bread that needs to be buttered so heavily." Odin sighed.

Thor frowned. "That was not my intent." Thor excused. he didn't want to start a fight now. not in this condition. Not that the battles in Vanaheim didn't exhausted him, he was just tired of fighting.

But Odin continued.

"The first time since Bifrost was destroyed, the Nine Realms are in peace. We're well reminded of our strength and you have earned their respect and my gratitude." Odin said and turned to face his son.

"Thank you." Thor sighed. Most of all, relieved that the arguing stopped.

"Nothing out of order except you're confused and distracted heart." Odin snarled.

Ah, of course he was going to blame it all on Jane now. Isn't it Thor's fault, then it's always Jane's fault. _Oh Jane…_ Thor's heart aches every time he think of his love.

"This isn't about Jane Foster father." Thor responded calmly. He wanted to protect his true love from his father's words as good as he can.

"Human lives are fleeting, they're nothing. You'd be better served by what lies in front of you." Odin said as he nodded in Sif's direction, who was fighting below them with the other training soldiers. She casts an eye upon the father and son above her, but then continued the training.

Thor knew Odin meant well, but he can't love Sif. She was like a sister for him, and his heart already belonged to Jane. Odin must have seen the frustration in Thor's eyes, because he was now talking with a calmed voice filled with a father's love and respect to his son.

"I'm telling you this not as the All-Father, but as your father. You are ready, the time has come for you to take the throne. Embrace it, celebrate what you have won. Join your warriors, eat and drink, revel in their celebration. At least pretend to enjoy yourself."

And so he did.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Loki didn't want to kill himself but if he failed, he would die. He didn't want to die, but he didn't mind if he did. It would be worth it actually. Loki had nothing to live for anyway. No one would care if he died, not even his _family._ He never gets any visitors and no one of his old friends seems to care of the fact that he's in prison. No one cares about him anymore, no one would mourn him if he passed away.

But that's the thing, it bothers him so that no one would regret how badly they'd treated him and no one would wish him back to life. Loki would gladly take the risk if he only knew it would hurt those he once loved. To know he'd leave his family and friends in pain would be a satisfaction.

Loki have to be careful now, not witless and impulsive. He have to consider his decisions carefully. It could lead to the biggest mistake he'll ever do. He might regret this, but what choice do he have? He had nothing to live for, no reason to keep fighti… oh, but he had. Loki would keep fighting as long as he could, he would do anything in his power to get his revenge.

So would he risk his life for an escape attempt?

9:30 pm Loki started to feel tired. he wasn't alert enough to do it now, it's too late. He had considered the plan the whole afternoon through. He was convinced this was the only decision, the only way out. He wouldn't waste it. But it was late and loki was too tired to manage anything like this, so he decided to do it the next day. _Tomorrow they'll see, i'm gonna win_

 _i'm the winner, i am not defea….._ Loki's thoughts was cut off by his own sleep. Loki had fell asleep.

* * *

In the evening, Thor joins the other warriors as they celebrate. There was Music surrounding them, food and smiling faces everywhere. Thor's eyes was fixed on the young maiden dancing on the table. She was pretty and as she danced her red, long, curled hair floated around her. She looked like the goddess of fire. She sang an old song, Dúlaman. As she sang, the people around her started to sing along with her. It was a joyful and a pleasant view, but Thor couldn't nor want to enjoy the feast along with the others.

As he watched the others enjoying themselves it's obvious his heart is not in it, instead he walked over to the balcony to join Sif who had taken a pause, exhausted after all feasting, laughing, eating and dancing. Sif took notice of Thor's presence and turned to face him.

"There was a time you would celebrate for weeks." Her voice concerned. She _was_ concerned. Thor always been amused of feasts and celebrates. Something was wrong…

Thor gave her a crooked smile.

"I remember you celebrated the battle of Haragon so much that you nearly started a second." he said. _Ha ha, true._ Sif thought. She took a step closer and looked him in the eyes. "Well, the first was so much fun." She said.

They both smiled. after a little while in silence Sif managed to speak.

"Take a drink with me." Sif suggested. but then she noticed how Thor's eyes darkened. "Surely the All-Father could have no further task for you tonight." Sif reassured him quickly, but Thor shook his head slowly. "No, this is one I set myself." He murmured. Sif tilted her head slightly as she watched him, Thor, her old friend, almost like her brother…

"It has not gone unnoticed that you disappear each night. There are Nine Realms. Future king of Asgard must focus on more than one." She urged. Thor knew she was right, but right now, he couldn't focus at all.

"I thank you for your sword and for your counsel, good Lady Sif." He nodded and gave her a smile before leaving. He turned and walked away.

Sif gazed after him as le leaved, she felt something. Something felt weird. It wasn't just the fact that something was wrong with Thor, she had this strange feeling something else was going on, something very wrong…

* * *

 _October the 6th_

 _Dear diary, this might be the last time i write on these pages._

 _What I am about to do is something very stupid still very smart, if it works._

 _I'm planning to escape. If it success, I'll be free soon._

 _If it don't, well, then this might be a goodbye._

 _With a piece of glass I'm going to cut myself so bad_ _they'll have to take me to the healers,_

 _and when they don't see,_ _i'll take my chance and escape._

 _But I have my doubts though…_

 _The guards might think it's a trick,_

 _then they'll leave me here to bleed out._

 _What if they just let me keep the mirror and the shattered glass in purpose,_

 _just so i could_ _get this idea to cut myself, and when i do, they'll just stand there, watch me die slowly._

 _What if this is what they want? make me commit suicide._

 _They probably think my pass away would be the best for the realm._

 _But no, i don't care. i'm going to do this,_

 _i HAVE to do this! It's my only chance to_ _see daylight again._

 _But I have to be strong, i can't go back now,_

 _i have prepared every little detail now. But, i have to confess i am scared,_

 _i am truly scared of not knowing what is going to happen._

 _I might be free, i might die…_

 _or i might be thrown back in these dungeons again…_

 _If i'm getting back again, i'll kill myself for real then,_

 _i don't want them to win._

 _I'm not going to let them defeat me. I am not defeated,_ _And i'll never be._

 _I guess this is a goodbye, so..._ _Goodbye dear diary,_

 _goodbye._

Loki ended the sentence and laid down the book and the pen in his hand. He observed the book for a while, so many memories has been written down in those pages, so many memories. They didn't matter for him now, he realized that. Nothing mattered but one thing, to get out of here. Loki took a deep breath, he prepared himself for the pain he was about to experience.

He closed his eyes and sat on his bed for a while, the only sound came from his slow deep breaths. after five minutes in the same position, he opened his eyes. "i'm ready" He said. He knew no one could here him, but he didn't talk to anyone either. Loki stood up. He slowly began to walk across the room. When he reached the mirror he gasped and stacked back a few steps.

"Am i insane?" Loki breathed. This… this was foolish! "AM I INSANE?!" He yelled. He couldn't stop the panic inside him. He couldn't control himself, he couldn't control anything. He closed his eyes as hard as he could and then opened them again.

Loki stared at the mirror, or where the mirror used to be. _Used to be… USED to be!_ Loki couldn't believe his eyes. It was once again impossible. The mirror wasn't there anymore, gone. Vanished! The broken mirror on the wall, was now _not_ on the wall…?

Loki took a careful step forwards as he observed the wall. Not even a mark on the wall was left. He walked closer again and touched the wall with his fingers. he suddenly realized he must have stepped on the glass again. He's mind is messing with him, because his vision began to blur. he quickly stepped aside and expected to feel the pain on his feets. Loki realized he didn't felt the slightest pain at all. He turned his gaze upon the floor below where the mirror used to hang.

Loki's eyes widened, he stepped back as he tried to focus, pointless, he couldn't even spell the word _focus_ right now. He was so confused. Was it all a dream? Is he still dreaming? The shattered glass was gone as well! but it was there! Just a few minutes ago, it was there! it _should_ be there! why is everythig so wrong? why does it felt like something is so so wrong?!

This is wrong...

Loki sat down in the corner and hugged himself tightly. His arms wrapped around his knees in a strong grip. _no no no no no! how could this happened when no one else but me is here? i didn't do this? who or what caused this? i'm probably cursed!_ Loki wanted to hit something or someone, he wished he had someone to blame this for, But no one was behind this, no one Loki knew so far. The source of this problem was unknown. He couldn't find an answer for it either. And what's the thing with this feeling, it's like someone has written in the air with big letters **SOMETHING IS WRONG!** This feeling was tearing him apart. And the worst part of it all, now the only thing that could have set him free, the only oppotunity for him to escape was gone! he would be stuck in here for the rest of his painfully long life. And why was it gone? _H_ _ow_ was it gone?

Maybe he was ill, mentally ill, insane. What if he was going crazy? Now, after all he's been through, he had actually lost his mind..?

"What's wrong with me?!" he shouted in frustration as he slowly started to feel dizzy... Dizzy? He suddenly felt like he was drugged. He started to get panic again. was it something he couldnt stand, that would be to feel dizzy, when you no longer have control over your own body, when your mind is betraying you. everything became to much. this wrong feeling, the dizziness, the missing mirror, the only chance to escape gone, to spend your entire life in prison, allways being misunderstood. everything was too much. the panic was slowly taking over Loki's mind...


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Loki didn't sleep for days. When he tried, he ended up lying on his bed, staring at the empty empty wall, just like he expected the mirror to pop up any minute. He wanted so badly to get out of this claustrophobic cell. But he wouldn't ever get out, his only chance was gone. _I wasted it! i slept that night instead of performing my plan,_ _i could have done it, i would be free by now if i only had stick to the plan!_ Suddenly loki sat up. He heard something, a noise… three knocks.

"knock, knock, knock."

Loki turned around. His gaze flickered around the room. The room was empty as always. He thought it must have been the guards or some prisoner in the cell next to him. he turned around again and tried to sleep. He actually felt a little sleepy now, he might get some sleep after all.

"knock. knock. knock."

It knocked again. This time louder. Loki turned around in annoyance. Couldn't they just leave him alone? now, when he actually has a chance to sleep. He needs to sleep. he _have_ to sleep! He searched for the source of the knocks and tried to listen if there was more knocks. Only silence. Loki slowly turned around to sleep again.

He was half asleep when he suddenly sat up. Loki just realized something and it terrified him. These cells were soundproofed, the sounds outside could not be heard in here. That wasn't terrifying though, the only terrifying about this was the fact that if someone knocked on the other side of the wall, Loki wouldn't heard it. Someone or something must have knocked on a wall here, inside the cell. Someone was inside the cell. The sleepy feeling was long gone. Instead he got the creeps as he realized someone or something was in here. It was nighttime and the room was surrounded by darkness.

Loki felt like a frozen statue. He couldn't move, the fear of what was hiding in the dark hold him in an iron grip. He dared not to move nor breathe. He sat on the bedside in absolute silence for like 5 minutes. Nothing happened and he found no signs of any danger. He took a deep breath.

"who's there…?" his voice cracked and he cleared his throat.

"is there someone else in the room?" He asked. He got no reply. This annoyed him so, when he finally managed to get some sleep, someone just _have_ to bother him and scare him so much he definitely wouldn't be able to sleep again. Maybe not for days…

"I demand you as the prince of Asgard, to answer me! Who are you and what do you want?!" Loki was surprised when he heard himself speak with such confidence and determination. It didn't felt like his voice, but it strengthened him a little and he slowly rose up. His Legs felt stiff after sitting tensed in the same position for seven minutes. The air suddenly felt thick and Loki could hardly breathe. His vision began to blur and he sat down on the bed again, afraid of losing his balance. "what's happening?" Loki murmured.

"Knock, knock, knock"

This time the knocking was loud. The knock came from the wall right behind him. Loki flinched and turned around, but no one was there. He backed away slowly to a corner. "Who's there?! WHO'S THERE?!" He shouted. The only reply he got was the painful silence. Loki fixed his eyes on the wall which the knocks came from. It was the same wall the mirror hanged on. How is this even possible? This shouldn't be possible! How could someone be in here if he hadn't noticed that before? Loki was extremely observant and a thing like this he would have noticed the first day he arrived here. It's Asgards safest prison, no one could get out, then nothing should get in either. there wasn't even a way _into_ his cell. To get in here you must perform a special spell, not even Loki knew how to perform it.

What if this is just a stupid prank Thor and his friends are playing to frighten him. Maybe this was a part of the punishment? Whatever prank it is it's truly confusing and creepy. Loki couldn't stand the silence anymore. He encouraged himself.

"who or whatever you are, i demand you to show yourself this instant!" He said loudly, when no answer came he lost his patience.

"PLEASE JUST FUCKING SHOW YOURSELF!" He wailed in despair and annoyance. Maybe no one was there? maybe he just hallucinated? he haven't slept for 3 days now, his mind was probably just messing with him.

 _What a fool i am.._

Loki curled into himself and just sat there, in the corner. "what are you..?" he whispered.

"KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!"

Loki screamed and jumped away from the sound. he landed on the floor. Now it had knocked on the wall next to him, just a few centimeters from his ear. Someone or something had knocked very hard, it was very loud. Loki's ears hurts and he wrapped his arms around his head.

 _I have to get out of here… i have to get out!_

Loki stood up and runned towards the glasswall. There was a spell on it, so nothing could break it, Loki knew that, but now he was beyond reason. He could only think of one thing, to get out.

he threw himself the hardest he could against the glass wall again and again in hope of break it down. When it didn't work he grabbed every object in the room and smashed them one by one on the glass wall. When he was done, every object he used was broken, but not the wall.

he was just about to scream and run amok when something caught his attention. he stared at the broken stuff on the floor which he used. Loki couldn't believe what he saw.

They were bleeding.

all of the broken stuff were bleeding. Thick fresh blood trickled down from the cracks of the broken objects. all the blood created a pool of blood on the floor.

Loki wished he had killed himself on the day when the mirror broke.

* * *

 **One and a half week later**

Frigga and Odin discussed things of importance, something about the nine realms. Then Thor walked in. Thor watched as his parents nook notice of his presence and fell silent. When he reached them Frigga stood up.

"what's is it my dear?" She asked her son with a smile. Thor gave a nod in the Allfathers direction before he spoke.

"I'm here to tell you that i am going to visit Midgard, to spend a few days with my love."He said.

"Asgard need you in these difficult times. There has been an unknown force attacking some of the realms, you know that. We need you here if they strikes again." odin said.

"i know father, i just have not seen her for a long time now. I won't be long" Thor begged.

Odin lifted an eyebrow as he gazed upon his son. He knew Thor wanted to see his mortal maiden, but he was also aware of the fact that Asgard needed him. Odin took a decision.

"i give you three days" He said. Frigga glanced at her husband and smiled. Thor shined up and gave his father a nod.

"Thank you father" Thor turned around and began to walk. As soon as Thor was gone Frigga sighed sadly as she looked away. "What bothers you my love?" Odin asked.

"I just think we should tell him" Frigga murmured. Odin sighed. They have talked about this many times before, but he thought they agreed now. He didn't want to dwell about this again. "Loki is very unstable right now, i do not think we should make it worse." Odin said. He knew Frigga was right, but he wouldn't take the risk. "But we have to tell him before he finds out it himself, _that_ would make it worse. you owe him the truth!" frigga urged. Odin frowned. "I owe him nothing!" Odin barked. Loki was a criminal and betrayer, he didn't deserve anything. "If you will not tell him, then i will" frigga hissed and turned around. As Frigga leaved Oding shouted after her, but she didn't listen.

Frigga crossed the golden hall and then turned left to reach the stairway which led down to the dungeons. It will be hard to tell him, but he deserved to know. The only thing Frigga worried about was how he was going to take it. She knew he definitely wouldn't take this lightly, he'll might even react on the fact that they haven't tell him this before. She was against Odin's idea from the beginning, she knew he only wanted to protect Loki from the truth, but Loki was no longer a child and they have already lied to him once and look how that ended. Loki _deserved_ to know the truth.

When she reached the dungeons she walked to the first guard she saw and demanded him to show her the way to Loki's cell. The guard led her to the cell and when they reached it, the guard leaved her alone with her son. Frigga felt that something was wrong as soon as she reached his cell. she could sense it. She saw loki lying in his bed, he seemed to sleep. There was something about his cell, everything felt too perfect somehow. She realized there was a spell on it. Someone wanted to hide something. Frigga closed her eyes and tried to sense if there was some magic in the air, there was. She could sense the spell of an illusion, this view she saw wasn't real.

With one gesture, Frigga waved her hand in the air slightly to reverse the spell. as soon as the illusion was gone she stared into her son's cell.

Frigga began to scream…


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

When Thor arrived on earth, he searched for his love, Jane. He found Jane in London on a hotel. She was on her way out when she saw him. Thor stood there like the god he was, he looked so handsome with his tousled long blonde hair. Jane couldn't believe what she saw. He was here, Thor was finally here, after two years he was finally here! Jane wanted to rush to him and hug him tightly but she was afraid he only was an illusion and that she would just run through him, so she just stood there, staring at Thor who just smiled at her. Finally Jane managed to walk closer.

"Jane." Thor said as she reached him. As Thor took a step closer to embrace Jane, she suddenly slapped him hard in the face. Thor flinched slightly and rose an eyebrow.

"Sorry. I just needed to make sure you were real…" Jane murmured as she looked away awkwardly. Thor smiled again.

"Well, I am. Jane -" but he was cut off by Jane suddenly slapping him again. Now when Jane was sure he really _was_ here, the anger inside her began to grow.

"Where were you?!" She asked angrily. Thor sighed as he reached for her hand but Jane backed away, she wanted an answer. "i have been busy, i needed to do my duties in Asgard." He explained. Thor's excuse didn't seem to please her. Jane inhaled deeply. "I was waiting and then I was crying and then I went out looking for you. You said you were coming back" She hissed. Thor sighed again and looked away. "I know, I know, but the Bifrost was destroyed. The Nine Realms erupted into chaos, wars were raging, marauding hordes were pillaging. I had to put an end to the slaughter." Thor declared. Jane relaxed a bit, she understood, Thor was a busy man, but he could at least have visited her when he was in New York with the Avengers a year ago. She sighed.

"As excuses go, that's not terrible. But I saw you on TV, you were…you were in New York!" She said. oh, how would Thor explain that, he should have visited her, he agreed on that point, but then he would involve her in the danger he and the Avengers fought against. "Jane, I fought to protect you from the dangers of my world, but I was wrong, I was a fool." Thor admitted. He rose his hand and caressed Jane's cheek. "I believe that fate brought us together. Jane, i'm sorry i didn't visited you earlier, but I do know this." He said. Jane looked at him confused.

"What?" She asked.

"I know…" thor murmured as he moved closer to Jane.

"You do?" Jane said as she gazed deep into his eyes. Thor wrapped her arms around her.

"Do what?" Thor whispered as Jane closed her eyes. They leaned in close and kissed each other softly. The world couldn't be more perfect Jane thought.

She didn't knew how wrong she was…

* * *

 **One week earlier -**

The day after the knock-happening, Loki stayed in bed. He refused to eat or drink. He didn't move, he only laid there in the same position the whole day.

The guards noticed something was wrong with him and they sent to him a healer who would diagnosticate his condition. The healer they sent was a young maiden named íona, she had long dark hair, golden brown eyes and chocolate colored, soft skin. She was beautiful, everyone in Asgard agreed on that point, still she was a virgin.

íona walked into Loki's cell, she fixed her eyes on the figure in the bed. She knew Loki was a dangerous criminal and she knew she should be careful, but she wasn't afraid at all as she walked closer to the man in the bed. He looked so weak and fragile that he wouldn't be able to harm her, and íona didn't judge people,

she didn't think he would be a threat to her. When she reached him she sat down on the chair next to his bed and started investigate him closely. She had bringed some tools she needed in the investigation. íona was a very skilled healer and she did her job well. it took about an hour to examine his body and to find the symptom which would declare the diagnosis she would give him. When she was done she took the prognosis to the healing room to let Eir, their leader, calculate them. When íona reached the healing room Eir gave her a nod.

"You have done well, now go and take a rest, you have earned that." Eir said to her. íona smiled and walked away. Eir sat down to compile íona's investigations.

After 10 minutes calculation her eyes widened as she realized what loki suffered from. "Oh Loki…" Eir sighed. She liked that boy, Loki. He was always so nice to the servants in the palace, he admired their hard work and he always treated them as friends, especially the healers. When he was young he often came down to the healing rooms to see the healers work. Eir took notice of his fascination with the healing, so she decided to learn him. He turned out to be a very brilliant student. Eir teached him how to stitch bleeding wounds, She learned him how to heal broken bones. Loki was very easily taught and very intelligent. She remembered watching a laughing mischievous boy growing up to a quiet melancholic young man. Loki, who now was in prison, who Eir would probably never see again, was in a hard condition. Eir knew now it was a serious case, she realized they needed to take him to the healing room, soon, as fast as they could!

Eir needed to face the painful truth, that Loki suffered from a mental illness called Tremens Delirium.

Tremens delirium is the last state of a poison abuse. It meant someone or Loki himself has poisoned him for a long time. Tremens Delirium is the last state before dying. Loki's life was in danger. Eir needs to report this to the Allfather this instant. She moved in the direction which led to the throne room.

As she crossed the corridor something suddenly grabbed her leg and pulled her backwards. Eir screamed as the thing dragged her down through a secret trapdoor. Eirs vision blacked out. The darkness swallowed the world.

* * *

 **Today -**

"Thor, i'm going to take you to the mall!" Jane said as Thor frowned. "Nooo, why can't we just stay here in your hotel room, i like it here!" Thor protested. Jane just laughed as she shook her head. "oh no, you coming with me! I'm not going shopping without you!" Jane chuckled. Thor sighed. "I. am. _not._ going. shopping." Thor declared clearly.

 **A few minutes later.**

"Thor what do you think of this shirt?" Jane asked as he showed him a bright blue shirt. Thor observed the shirt and then looked up on Jane. "I think it would fit you well" Thor admitted.

"Okay! I'll try it then! you stay here." Jane said with a smile as she hurried into a dressing room. Thor sighed and gazed around. his eyes fell upon a young man.

He stood a few meters away. he was turned away from Thor so he could only see his back, but he recognized the man. It was Loki, no doubts! The man was skinny and tall, his hair was long and black and he weared a green sweater and black tights.

It was Loki, Thor was sure of it, but how could he escape? how come he was here? to attack Midgard again? Thor was not going to allow that. Not this time. "forgive me brother" thor murmured before he ran to attack. He jumped on the man and knocked him down. While he laid there on the floor and wailed, Thor stroke again.

"how dare you attack Midgard!? Again?!" Thor boomed as he beated Loki again and again. "Someone help!" Loki screamed in panic. Suddenly a group of security guards pushed Thor away from Loki. "what are you doing? do you know who _that_ is?!" Thor yelled and pointed at Loki as the guards took him away. A man walked towards Loki and helped him on his feets. Loki turned around and gazed at Thor. It was actually the first time he saw Loki's face since he arrived at the mall,

Thor realized that man wasn't Loki, Not Loki at all. The man's face was round and chubby, his eyes were dark blue and tiny and his nose was big and red. Thor realized his mistake and he apologized.

As the security guards held back Thor and said they were going to arrest him, Jane came out. When she realized what happened she face palmed and rushed towards Thor and the guards. "do you know this man?" one of the guards asked.

"Yes of course! Don't you? he's Thor, one of the Avengers. Excuse me but he saved the world one year ago! A war criminal named Loki attacked New York one year ago, don't you remember? That man over there.." Jane said and pointed at the man Thor thought was Loki. "...that man looks like Loki pretty much, Thor must have thought it _was_ him, therefor he attacked the man." The guards stood there, dumbfounded as Jane continued. "...Obviously that man isn't Loki, but Thor only did what he thought was best, he tried to protect us! so don't you dare arrest him!" Jane declared and the guards let go of Thor. "If you say so miss." One of the guards said. "I think you can leave" Jane hissed. The guards nodded and returned to their positions. Thor gazed into Jane's eyes.

"Thank you" He said.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The day after íona's visit Loki managed to move again. He slowly sat up and stared into the wall with gloomy eyes. His head felt tired and he wanted nothing but sleep, but he knew he wouldn't be able to fall asleep, every time he tried he always failed. Loki sighed and closed his eyes. He remembered that girl, the one who came into his cell yesterday. She was so beautiful. He wanted to know her name. He remembered her telling him that everything was ok, that there was nothing to fear.

Oh how he wanted to believe in those words. Loki wished she was here again, he wanted so badly to hear her soft words while she caress his cheek, to promise that she would protect him from all evil. But Loki knew somewhere that he never will see her again. He could tell the girl was a healer, he recognized the clothes, he knew she really didn't care for him, she was just doing her job. No one cared for him, not really.

He opened his eyes again. He was alone, of course, why should anyone be here but him? All though a little part of him was disappointed, that little part of him had wished that girl would stand there when he opened his eyes. He laughed at his own stupidity.

"Loki, what a fool you must be to believe that someone would actually visit me by free will, No one cares about you! Can't you see?!" Loki hissed to himself.

"But Frigga then? I bet she cares a little, after all, she was the reason they didn't executed me!" He responded.

"exactly! if they had executed you, you wouldn't be here now to suffer! And do you really think Frigga cares about you? Then if, why has she not visited you by now? She only seemed to care because she claimed to be your mother!" Loki spat.

"No! That's not true. you're lying! please stop it!" He wailed.

"Make me!" Loki smirked. Suddenly he lifted his arm and slapped himself in the face as he realized what he was doing. _What am i doing? Talking to myself? have i finally lost my mind? come on now, shape up!_ He thought as he flickered his eyes a few times. Suddenly Loki's eyes fell upon a crack on the roof, right above him.

He frowned. That crack wasn't there before, it wasn't supposed to be there either.

He slowly stood up in the bed to get a closer look. He heard a sound, a very strange sound which came from the crack above. Suddenly the crack widened and a dozen of spiders crawled out. Loki jerked back as he saw how the spiders spread out across the roof and continued down the walls. Loki gasped and hided under his bed. The roof and the walls was filled with spiders, it looked like they were black instead of white. the Spiders were fast, very fast. They reached the floor in a few seconds and continued in Loki's direction. Loki realized his hiding place wasn't the best, so he rose up and jumped up on the bed. The spiders climbed up the bed and attacked Loki. Loki tried to shake them off but they wouldn't let go. Some spiders crawled inside his skin. As Loki screamed in pain and fear, the spiders crept into his mouth.

Loki dropped on the floor, his body was so full of spider that it looked like his skin was made of spiders. Loki couldn't scream, he couldn't move, he couldn't think clear. His vision went black as the spiders digged into his eyes.

 _I'm going to die!_ Was the last thing Loki thought before he fell unconscious.

* * *

Égil was tired of his life. His duties as guard in Asgards prison was terribly boring.

He thought guarding this place was meaningless, no one could escape this place anyway so why would they need guards? The only thing they did was to stand there in the same position and watching each prisoner, reassuring no one escaped. Like that would happen, because it would not. Égil almost wished sometimes a prisoner would try to escape, that would at least make his work here a little bit more exciting.

That was before, since they choose Égil to guard Loki his life became way more exciting! First when he heard of it, he thought Loki, one of Asgard's cleverest being, would be a challenge to guard. He thought Loki would try to escape all the time and he would success. But after a few days Égil realized it was way more easier than he thought. He was a little bit disappointed though, he had thought he would get an exciting task at last. But his disappointment was soon replaced as he noticed how entertaining Loki was to watch. Égil could tell Loki was nuts. He was acting so weird!

Égil remembered the day when Loki had stared into that wall with panic in his eyes for minutes, as if the wall would bite him! Then he had backed away and started to scream. Égil had laughed very much that day. Loki was so weird in a funny way.

He also remembered that night when Loki had ran around in the cell and sometimes he had screamed, then he suddenly had jumped a dozen times against the glass wall. Then Égil had laughed more than ever before, how could someone possibly be so stupid to think he could get out by crashing the wall down! It was impossible!

Loki maybe wasn't that clever after all…

But when he started to crush the objects in the room against the wall, Égil almost felt pity for him. Égil's life was far more funnier now thanks to Loki's funny actions! All though, it still wasn't a normal way to act, so he sent a healer to Loki, just in case.

But today, something was different. Loki had screamed as someone tortured him. It actually scared Égil a little, that wasn't a good sign. Maybe Loki was mentally ill? Or was he suffering from something else, an unknown force or just an illness? Maybe was he sick and the side effect of it was the pain. There must be a reason for his actions, no one just screamed like that. Then Loki had fainted and now he laid there, unconscious on the floor. Égil didn't know what to do. Should he interact? Should he call for help? Or should he just ignore it? Égil wailed in frustration. What was he supposed to do? He had no knowledge of handling a maniac who just had a breakdown.

Maybe he should call for the other guards. No one was allowed to leave their position except in an emergency, but Égil couldn't find a better word for this situation. He turned around and began to call for the other guards.

"Emergency! Emergency! A prisoner has collapsed!" Égil yelled as he crossed the halls. The most of the other guards didn't seems to care, but a few of them paid attention. "What's the matter?" One of them asked. "Loki collapsed after having a breakdown, i think we should do something!" Égil explained in frustration.

But no, he _knew_ they should do something.

* * *

 **On Earth -**

"Why did you _have_ to attack that man?!" Jane yelled.

Thor and Jane had walked home to Jane's hotel room after the incident with _Loki_ in the mall. Now Jane stood in front of Thor with crossed arms. "Forgive me, I truly regret my actions. but i really thought it was Loki. Jane, i promise, that will never happen again" Thor apologized. Jane just snorted. "Do you really think i will forgive you just because of some fancy words? You almost got arrested! Do you know how screwed you would be right now without me?! I saved you, Thor! I saved you from a very bad situation!" Jane hissed.

"I really _am_ sorry my love" Thor said as he grabbed her hand and squeezed it softly. Jane eye rolled and then glared at Thor "Oh Thor, you idiot!" Jane sighed as Thor dragged her closer. "i know, i'm the biggest idiot in the nine realms." Thor murmured. Jane leaned into Thor's arms as they kissed each other.

"I forgive you, you clumsy shit." Jane whispered softly in Thor's ear. Thor just smirked and then he kissed her again.

Thor couldn't sleep that night. He was too lost in his own thoughts to feel the slightest sleepy. He also couldn't get rid of the feeling that something was wrong. He had felt it only a little bit on Asgard, but the feeling has grown since he saw _Loki_ on that mall. The feeling was somehow connected with his brother then? because now he couldn't stop thinking about him. Loki, his little brother, who now spent all of his days in prison. Why did everything ended up like this? Thor remembered Loki as a chatterbox who never kept quiet, a really brilliant boy, there was no question Loki couldn't answer, Thor remembered him as a mischievous boy who played Thor and his friends stupid pranks, most of the time it ended up with Sif beating the shit out of Loki. Thor laughed at the memory, but then he frowned. How could Loki ended up like this, he shouldn't normally be like this bitter violent villain who hated everyone and everything. Thor is not used to see him like that. It concerned him gravely. What if someone did something to him which turned him into this way? what if someone possessed him or was he mentally ill?

Thor couldn't accept the thought of that Loki just acted like this for no reason. People just don't turns bad! or did they…? Thor couldn't stop thinking about it, he was truly worried for his baby brother. Maybe putting Loki in prison was wrong? Maybe they should have sent him to the healing room instead? This was too much for Thor to think of. He needed to speak with someone. He gazed at his love who slept beside him, she was so beautiful in her sleep, her face looked so peacefully calm. Thor didn't want to wake her up, but he really needed someone to talk to. Thor inhaled deeply before touching her shoulder gently.

"Jane, Jane wake up." Thor whispered in her ear. Jane flinched as she opened her eyes slowly. "Thor…? what is it?" Jane moaned. She really wasn't in the mood for talking, she just wanted to sleep.

"I'm worried about Loki." Thor confessed. Jane lifted an eyebrow. "Loki? why?"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Loki opened his eyes. He laid on the floor. Why isn't he dead? shouldn't he be dead by now? He suddenly sat up and gazed around him, no signs of the spiders. Loki slowly stood up. Was it just a dream? Yes, it was probably just a dream. The funny thing about dreams is that you can't feel pain in them, not real pain. Loki could clearly remembered the pain, the pain felt real, it _was_ real. The dream felt too real to be a dream, but Loki didn't want to think about it, he wanted to believe it was just a dream. Suddenly a group of guards rushed into his cell. Loki jerked back.

"is everything ok sir? i heard you collapsed." One of the guards said. Loki gasped slightly. Maybe it _was_ real after all..? No, it _can't_ be!

"No i didn't collapse, i'm absolutely fine." He lied. "But may i ask, did you saw any spiders?" Loki asked nervously.

"Spiders?" The guard frowned. Loki nodded.

"No, i didn't see any spiders?" another guard said, Loki recognized him. It was the one who guarded Loki. A young short man with red hair and shining green eyes. He was so young, far too young for wasting his life in the dungeons.

"are you sure?" Loki asked and tilted his head. The young guard nodded and gazed nervously at the other guards.

"You said it was an emergency!" one of the elder guards blamed. Loki rose his eyebrows as he watched the guards arguing. "no, but.." Loki's guard stammered as he took a step backwards. "Égil! You don't just call false alarm like that! how many times do i have to tell you…" The elder guard began but was cut off by Loki.

"ehm.. if you're about to fight, then please can go somewhere else?" Loki asked in annoyance. Their problems was not of his business, and he needed time for himself. The guards fell silent and nodded. They leaved Loki on his own. Loki sighed. All alone again, Finally. He sat down on his bed and picked up a book.

"Loki, my son."

Someone sighed behind him. Loki tensed as he recognized the voice, Frigga. Loki spun around and faced his mother's figure. She stood there and smiled warmly at him. Loki frowned. "why did you come?" Loki asked suspiciously.

"To see you." She said and reached for Loki's hand, but he backed away. "No, you didn't! Why. did. you. come?!" Loki breathed. Frigga slowly shook her head and sighed. "Must there always be a reason?" She whispered. Loki shrugged.

 _Yeah, why must there be a reason for everything?_ He grabbed her hand and smiled slightly.

"no, it mustn't." Loki replied. Maybe she actually cared after all? Something Loki thought was long gone began to grow in him, hope. "I have missed you so" Frigga said as she slowly caressed Loki's cheek. He closed his eyes. Loki didn't realized how much he had missed this, to be loved. "I have missed you too mother.." Loki murmured. He suddenly realized he just called her _mother_ , Frigga wasn't his real mother. But he really didn't care if she was his mother or not, only the fact that she was here and cared about him. He was thankful. He shouldn't complain, so he stayed silent.

"But really, what are you doing here?" Loki asked again.

"Loki, i am here to take you out, you should not be here, you know that." Frigga said softly. Loki frowned. "am i allowed to get out? just like that?" Loki couldn't believe what he just heard. Why would they set him free? There's no reason. But then he remembered, everything mustn't always have a reason. Loki smiled and looked up at Frigga with big eyes, just as he used to as a child. But Frigga's smile faded. "what's the matter?" Loki asked confused. "Nothing, it's just… you're not allowed to get out, not yet." Frigga sighed.

Loki tensed. _Of course, what did I expect?_ He knew it was too good to be true, he knew it!

"i don't understand" Loki whispered. Frigga looked away. "Mother! What is going on? Will you at least explain to me?" Loki appealed. "Of course darling" She nodded. "I'm here because i am going to help you escape." She continued. Loki's eyes widened, he couldn't believe it, was she really going to take this risk for his sake? what about his crimes? didn't he deserve this somehow? Loki admitted his crimes on earth was after all pretty awful, shouldn't she be at least a little mad at him then?

"I know what you are thinking, that i shouldn't help you because you deserved this, because of your crimes, you think i should be mad at you?" Frigga laughed softly. Loki nodded slowly and looked down on the floor. Frigga squeezed his hand gently. "Loki, you didn't deserve this, i know you tried to help them, the Midgardian people. You tried to lead them, you thought you did the right thing. There is nothing you did wrong darling, you shouldn't be in this cell. Therefor i will do everything in my power to help you out." Frigga said. Loki looked surprised at her. This didn't felt like the Frigga he knew, Loki frowned. Something was wrong…

"But, i killed thousands of innocent people!" Loki protested.

"We have all killed innocents, Thor have taken many lives in past battles. Since you and your brother were young, Thor always called for war, you called for peace. You don't deserve this! Thor should be in prison instead for you!" Frigga declared.

Loki flinched, he knew now this wasn't his mother, she wouldn't say such things. "You are _not_ my mother." Loki said coldly.

"How did you guess." Frigga smirked.

Loki let go of Frigga's hand and quickly stepped back. "Who are you?" Loki asked suspiciously and tilted his head. Who was she? or he? Loki couldn't tell. What did it want and what has it done to his mother? Loki was full of questions.

"Oh you know who i am." It said and walked towards Loki. "I don't think so" Loki snorted. He didn't want this thing to be here, he wanted to be alone. How could he not noticed she wasn't Frigga earlier?! Loki cursed himself for his stupidity. The thing in front of him began to laugh coldly.

"Oh Loki, how rude you are! don't tell me you have you forgotten me? i thought we were friends…" It moved closer to Loki, there was just a few centimeters between their faces, just as she was about to kiss him. Loki tensed as it wrapped it's arms around him.

"Get off me!" He hissed. She only laughed in return. "um.. no. I do what i want! sounds familiar?" It smirked. Loki didn't answer, he only gazed at her with hateful eyes. "Loki, you know i love you, but because of you _I_ have suffered." Her grip around him hardened.

"What..?" Loki didn't understand. "I suffered because of you and i'm going to make sure you will suffer as well. Just as i did." It now whispered with a soft voice. Loki didn't even get time to wonder what it meant before he felt a heat on his feets. He looked down and jerked back as he saw the flames burning his legs.

He screamed in pain as his body suddenly caught fire.

His whole body was now on fire. The pain was too much Loki screamed as his skin slowly charred, it burned his flesh. Loki dropped on his knees as the flames swallowed him. This time it was real, the pain was real, the flames was real. It could not possibly be imagination or a dream this time. It felt too real. The thing dressed as Frigga was now gone, Loki couldn't see it anywhere, it had disappeared somehow.

But he didn't care, he couldn't care of anything but the fact that he was burning to death. Loki could only feel the pain. The process was slow and he stood there burning on his knees for minutes. It was a slow torture which never seemed to end. Loki had stopped screaming, the pain was too overwhelming for him to make a sound. He just wanted it to be over, he waited for the end. Loki longed for death more than anything.

Then, finally, the pain faded away, but he didn't die, he was still on his knees, but the fire was gone. Loki didn't felt the pain anymore. He quickly stood up,

le looked down on his hands, they were clean, no sign of burned flesh. He couldn't just have imagined it all, it's impossible...

* * *

Eir slowly opened her eyes, she was surrounded by darkness. She heard dripping sounds from the roof. She thought it looked like a dark basement. Eir was tied up on a table. Someone had put a muzzle on her and she couldn't move nor speak. The panic began to grow inside her.

 _Where am I? what is happening?_ She couldn't remember what happened before,

how did she get in here? Why did her leg hurt? Eir was full of so many questions but she only wanted to get out of here, this instant! she tried to move but she couldn't. Eir tried again but it was pointless,

it didn't work. Eir stopped trying and relaxed again. What really bothered her was that she couldn't remember anything, how did she get in here in the first place? She remembered that she was going to tell the allfather that Loki was dying so he could allow them to take Loki to the healing room. but then her memory betrayed her. she didn't remember what happened after that. Eir was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't heard the footsteps.

Suddenly someone turned on the lights. The sudden light blinded Eir and she closed her eyes. Eir could now hear the footsteps getting closer. She forced herself to open her eyes again.

A figure reached Eir, it was Frigga. The queen! Thank gods! It was Frigga, she'd come to save her, to explain for her what happened. But the queen didn't release Eir, instead she smirked and said

"We're gonna have so much fun...!"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Jane was so tired of Thor sometimes, he was such a sleepy head. "Thor! Wake Up! It's 11.30 am and you are still in bed!" She yelled. Thor slowly opened his sleepy eyes. "Good morning my love" Thor smiled. "Morning? It's almost noon!" Jane snorted. Thor yawned as he stood up. "so?" he asked as he began to dress himself. "So therefor i give you the honer to go and buy some food at the supermarket!" Jane said as she crossed her arms. When Thor tried to look innocent she only laughed. "if you think you can get away with those puppy eyes, i'm just saying that's _not_ gonna work" Jane said with a crooked smile. "don't you remember what a disaster it was the last time?" Thor said.

"don't _you_ remember how you promised to never let that happen again?" Jane replied. Thor sighed. "As you wish..". then he kissed her quickly and walked towards the door. But when he opened it, Jane stopped him.

"Wait! You need money first! here, take this" jane said and gave him her wallet. "Thank you, i won't be long!" Thor promised and leaved. Jane stood there and wondered what trouble he'll get into this time.

Luckily, Thor remembered the way Jane described to the supermarket. When he arrived he asked himself "So this is a grocery store?" he looked around at the people, they were _everywhere_ , how could they be so many? bThor had to repeat what Jane ordered, egg, milk, chocolate, salad and corn flakes.

Thor walked inside and grabbed a basket. When Thor passed the second automatic glass door, his eyes widened. "and Jane told me Midgard didn't have magic" Thor murmured to himself. When Thor passed the meat section, he picked up nearly everything near him. Then he passed the fruit and vegetables section, there he stopped. When a man passed him Thor stopped him.

"May i ask, how can mankind create such strange things? Thor asked and pointed at The fruits. The man raised an eyebrow.

"um, well.. No one _creates_ them, they grow on trees and bushes. Everything is plant based" The man declared awkwardly. Thor laughed. "are you telling me that this tiny thing grow on a tree?" thor said and handed the man a potato. The man tried to not laugh.

"no eh, potatoes don't grow on trees, they-" the man began but Thor had already walked away. The man stared after him.

10 minutes later, Thor had picked everything Jane asked for, and a dozen other grocery. When he passed the sweets section, he stopped and stared at the colorful sweets, he thought them as beautiful. Thor couldn't hold himself back. He grabbed a handful sweets and tasted it. Thor's eyes widened as he reached for more. He had never tasted anything so good in his life!

* * *

"So, Eir? What did you think you were doing? Tell the allfather about Loki's condition huh?" Frigga smirked as she grabbed a knife. Eir tried to speak, but the muzzle prevented her.

"I don't think the king need to know. Let it be our secret, After all, i'm Loki's mother." Frigga sighed. Eir didn't understand, why are Frigga acting so weird?

"I suppose you already know my little boy is suffering from Tremens Delirium, that's the one when you hallucinating right? Poor little thing, it must be horrible to wake up by terrifying illusions every morning." Frigga whispered. Eir tried to talk again but only muffled moans came out. Frigga turned her attention to Eir. "oh, i almost forgot you were here, of course i should give you the chance to speak, i'm not rude" Frigga said as she released Eir from the muzzle.

As soon as the muzzle was gone Eir spoke up. "My queen, can you tell me where i am, i'm so confused." She said.

"Oh, Eir. don't be daft, you know where we are, you just don't remember." Frigga chuckled coldly. Eir frowned, this could not Frigga.

"Who are you and what have you done with the queen?!" Eir spat. "Ha ha, you have a sharp mind darling, Loki on the other hand was slower" Frigga confessed, she tilted her head as she observed Eir.

"Where is the queen!?" Eir exclaimed. "the queen is safe and sound, i wouldn't harm her, i kinda like her. But you on the other hand was going to destroy my plan, then all my work would be for nothing! I have to teach you a lesson darling, to make sure you will behave from now on." Frigga sighed as she raised the knife. Eir's eyes widened.

"what plan? what are you going to do!?" Eir gasped.

"This!" Frigga said and stabbed Eir in the eye. Eir screamed in agony. Frigga eye rolled as the healer screamed. Why did they always have to scream? It gave her headache! All though, Loki screamed louder than this bitch, so she could stand it. But she could put the muzzle on again. And so she did. when the muzzle was on again, Eir's screams was muffled, but Frigga could still hear them. She sighed again.

"Well, you seem to find amusement in screaming. So i can give you the chance to scream more, but you might feel a slight pain." Frigga asked as she continued to cut Eir, this time on her arms. Eir continued to scream.

"You can blame yourself, you was so close to ruin my plan, so close to ruin EVERYTHING" Frigga yelled. Then she smiled as she saw the pain in Eir's eyes.

"You think this hurts? Well, it's just the beginning"

* * *

 **The next day -**

Loki remembered Frigga, who actually wasn't Frigga at all, then who was it? Loki lied on his bed. Then he sat up. Loki didn't understand, what was happening to him? First the broken mirror, then it disappeared, then the hysterical knockings, then the spider and then this?! Why was everything so wrong in his life? Suddenly Loki realized he no longer was in his cell. He still sat on the bed, but he was now surrounded by trees.

 _By trees_?! Loki spun around and realized he was in a forest. It was something familiar about this place. Loki recognized the big vespiary a few meters away, then he remembered. Loki gasped and his eyes widened. It felt like yesterday! But, that vespiary was destroyed many years ago!

Suddenly a group of children passed Loki, he flinched back. He recognized each one of them and he wanted to scream. There was this one tiny boy, three elder boys and one elder girl. They were all very familiar. Loki knew what was going to happen, that's because it was one of his own memories from his childhood.

The little boy was him, Loki, a very young Loki. The girl was a young Sif and the boys was Fandral, Volstagg and Hogun. How was this possible? Loki saw how the elder children laughed as they dragged the little one along with them. They stopped as they reached the vespiary.

"Why have we stopped?" little Loki asked the others. The warriors three burst out laughing but Sif remained calm.

"Can't you see what that is? it's the secret treasure we told you about!" Sif explained. Loki raised an eyebrow. "No, that's a vespiary. How could a vespiary be a treasure?" Loki asked confused. "Well, the treasure is inside it you see" Fandral responded. Loki took a step closer. "Are you sure?" he asked. The others nodded quickly and Sif said "the only thing you have to do is to step on it!". Loki frowned. "but then the wasps in there will die!" Loki protested. The others laughed. "No Loki, the wasps is on vacation, there are no wasps in there now. Come on now Loki, step on it! There's a big surprise waiting for you!" Volstagg declared.

Loki seemed sceptical.

"I don't know…" Loki murmured. The others sighed in frustration.

"Maybe he's too scared to do it, told you he was a coward!" Hogun mocked

"I'm not a coward!" Loki yelled. The others laughed again.

"Then step on it!" Sif snorted. Loki inhaled deeply and then took a step closer. The young Loki slowly lifted his foot. The elder Loki in the bed suddenly began to scream "NO LOKI! DON'T…" but it was too late, his younger self suddenly stomped on the vespiary.

Loki couldn't breathe. This memory, he had tried to forget it, but it was impossible. It was hard enough to remember it, but this, to watch it happening again was a living nightmare. As the little Loki stepped on the vespiary a swarm of wasps flew out. Sif and the warriors three laughed as they ran away to avoid the wasp wasps swarmed around Loki as he tried to shake them off, which was impossible. There were thousands of them. The young Loki began to run. He remembered this too, he knew what was going to happen.

"Loki! Look out for the stone!" Loki shouted, but his younger self didn't seem to hear him. Loki wanted to close his eyes, he didn't want to see it happen, but he couldn't control them. Instead he was forced to watch at the little Loki stumbled on the stone and he didn't get up in time to escape the wasps. In a few seconds they had reached him. Loki screamed as they attacked him. He tried to wave them away but that only seemed to anger them more. Loki laid there helpless on the ground as the wasps swarmed on him, they crept into his clothes, his mouth, his ears. Loki cried for help but the others only stood there and laughed.

"Help! HELP!" Loki yelled. No one came. His skin was now full of wasps. Loki didn't wanted to watch this, the memory felt too real. He felt like he was going to throw up. The last thing loki saw was how his younger self cried in agony before suddenly Loki's vision blacked out.

He was now surrounded by darkness.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Égil was surprised how calm Loki has been since the day he collapsed. Every time Égil glanced at Loki through the glass wall he was always lying in his bed, sleeping or reading a book. He was almost too calm, it actually felt a little suspicious.

Égil was on the other hand bored again. Nothing fun happened anymore, not even Loki was funny to watch now. He sighed as he sat down and began to fiddle with his sword. He thought about his family, his mother who always worried about him, who always thought something bad would happen to him in the dungeons.

He thought of his little sister, Embla. Embla who was obsessed by her cat Arnór, who loved the smell of honeysuckle in the morning, who took care of their mother everyday. Embla, who Égil had promised to show the palace for. He closed his eyes. He wished he was with his sister right now. Embla had grown up so fast, since their mother got sick Embla took care of the house now while Égil provides for his family.

It felt like yesterday he took his sister to the big tree on the moors. On the biggest branch hanged a swing. Égil remembered how happy Embla had been when he showed her the swing. "oh please can i try it?" She had asked. Égil had smiled and nodded. Every day they visited the old tree and Embla wanted him to rock her in the swing. It was the golden age of their lives. But then, suddenly another memory popped up in Égil's head. He frowned.

 _One day, Égil and Embla had took their usual way to the tree as always, nothing strange with that. But when they reached the tree they noticed that another person was there. a youth sat on the swing with his nose in a book._ _Égil had frowned. He knew Embla was such a shy girl, she wouldn't dare asking_ _this boy to go away. The boy had stolen Embla's swing! Égil wasn't at all afraid of fighting, he was strong for his age, the boy on Emblas swing on the other hand, looked so skinny, so weak and fragile. Even if the boy was a few years older, Égil was sure he could knock the boy out if he needed to. Égil walked towards the elder boy._

" _Hey! That's my sisters swing you know! Could you leave and let her swing on it?" He had shouted. The boy looked up from his book._

" _but i was here first-" the boy began but was cut off by Égil who had punched him in the face. "No! you leave now! can't you see you're scaring my sister?!" Égil shouted._ _he did not allow anyone to hurt his baby sister. The boy jerked terrified back._

" _I-I'm so s-sorry! please! i was about to leave anyway!" The elder boy stammered._

" _Yeah, sure! i bet you will be back here tomorrow again!" Égil said._

" _No no no, i promise to not come back!" the boy reassured him. Then he took_ _his book and run away. They had never seen the boy again since that day._

Égil had forgotten that day, that boy, but now when he thought about it he knew who the boy was, even though he never asked about his name. The boy he and Embla had met so many years ago, was now right in front of him, It was Loki.

He remembered the boy's face, two big and shining green eyes, a skinny face and black hair. His clothes had been green and he looked like he came from a wealthy family, still there had been a melancholy over the boy which made him look so unhappy, which he still does. Égil hadn't realize until now that that boy actually had been Loki, a prince of Asgard. He could have used his position as an excuse to stay, he could have threatened them to send the guards on Égil and Embla if they tried to force him away. Still, Loki had just accepted it and left, not even tried to fight back.

Égil also remembered how happy Embla had been when he'd sent the boy away.

"you are my hero!" She had said as she hugged him tightly. Égil laughed at the memory, oh how he missed his little sister. He longed for her beautiful smile, her soft voice. But Embla wasn't the only thing he missed, he wanted his old life back, but then his family would starve to death if not Embla have found a job yet. No, this was for their own good, he had to keep this job.

The hours passed on and Égil started to feel sleepy. He was half asleep when his gaze fell upon Loki's cell. Suddenly he opened his eyes wide as he saw a sudden green shimmer over Loki who sat there, reading a book.

Égil recognized the sign. Illusion.

Loki wasn't really there, he was an illusion, the whole room was hidden by an illusion! That would explain why everything felt so clean in there. Égil knew Loki was a mental wreckage, he wouldn't be able to stay this calm and to keep the room so clean and structured as he now did. Everything in there felt too perfect. But if that was an illusion, then what truth was hidden behind it? What could possibly be so terrible that you have to hide it behind an illusion.

Magic and illusions was forbidden to perform in prison, Loki knew that, and he wouldn't take the risk, not even Loki was witless like that. So why would he do it? what reason led him to this? What if Loki had escaped and this illusion would make the guards to believe that he was still in there? Or maybe he wanted to hide something really really terrible, What was going on there?

Égil felt that he had to tell someone. These kind of news must immediately be known!

"i must report this to the king" Égil murmured to himself.

But what if he just imagined this? what if Loki didn't hid behind any illusion, what if there even wasn't an illusion? The last time he reported about Loki's collapse, the others only got mad at him. That could happen this time as well. But no, this was of importance, if Loki has escaped, Égil would lost his job. He had to report this to the Allfather before it was too late! He stood up and began to walk. He opened the golden doors which led out into the palace, he went upstairs and walked straight in the throne room's direction. He turned left and passed the corridor. He continued through the golden halls when suddenly something hit him in the back of his head and he fell unconscious on the floor.

Two hands grabbed Égil's legs and dragged him away.

* * *

When Thor came back to Jane he held three plastic bags full of groceries. Jane jaw dropped as he took the bags into the mini kitchen and put them on a bench. Jane rushed towards him as he started to pack up the food. Her eyes widened when she saw how much Thor has bought.

"Thor? What is this?" Jane inhaled. Thor looked up on her and smiled. "Oh, It's groceries, you told be to buy food, and so i did" He explained.

"But i told you to go and buy some eggs, milk, chocolate, salad and corn flakes _only_! Not every fucking grocery in the store!" Jane exclaimed angrily. Thor looked down on his feets as Jane continued.

"How much did it cost? How much money did u spent?" Jane asked tensed. Thor looked up again, confused and ashamed.

"Um… i don't understand what you are trying to ask, my love. When you speak of money, do you mean those small pieces of paper in your wallet?" Thor asked cautiously. "Yes! and by the way, where _is_ my wallet. And Thor, how. much. money. did. you. spent?!" Jane sighed in annoyance. Thor handed her the wallet.

"Oh, the man who owned the groceries wanted all of those papers in exchange for the food, but, why would anyone want such pointless things as paper pieces in exchange for valuable food?" Thor laughed, but Jane only glared at him.

"you. did. what?!" Jane asked tensed.

"I just told you my love, the man in the store wanted all the paper pieces in exchan-" Thor begun but was cut off by Jane.

"THOR YOU IDIOT! YOU SPENT ALL MY MONEY!" She yelled. Thor tensed.

"but we now have food for days, isn't that a good thing?" Thor asked quietly. "M-Maybe i don't know?! but the fact that _you_ wasted _my_ money is _not_ a good thing!" Jane continued.

"Jane i'm truly sorry, but i told you before, you shouldn't have sent _me_ to the supermarket." Thor excused. Jane face palmed and sighed again. "Well, i guess we have to make sure we don't waste the food then, then you would have spent all my money nor nothing" Jane sighed and Thor shined up. "Yes! let us have a really great evening, you can brought your friends here and we can have a great festivity together!" Thor said. "Yeah whatever, why not? And we could watch a movie, a horror movie!" Jane replied.

"Movie?" Thor asked confused, Jane nodded. "Yeah! Thor! You know what? this is actually a really good idea! Thor, you're a genius! Of course we should do this? Why haven't we done it before?" Jane sparkled.

"uh.. I don't know?" Thor smiled confused, but he was happy their little fight was over and that Jane was happy again. Jane gave Thor a quick kiss and then continued.

"I'll call Eric, Darcy and her new friend Ian now." Jane said as she picked up her phone. "Can i bring the Avengers as well?" Thor asked. "Sure, only if they don't destroy anything" Jane said, Thor shined up, this was going to be so fun!

The only thing that bothered him was the feeling that something was wrong with his brother...


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"there you are!" íona shined up as she saw Embla on the swing. Embla smiled as íona reached her and sat down beside her. "it's so good to see you, it's been awhile since we last met" Embla spoke. "It truly has, but now i'm here." íona said. Embla smiled sadly. "You are my closest friend íona and i am glad you decided to come." Embla sighed softly. íona reached for Embla's hand and squeezed it gently. Embla looked away. "I know it must be hard for you, to lose a friend can tear you apart, but you have always been so strong, you will survive this i know that. And you know i am always here for you." íona said softly as she caressed Emblas hand, she saw the tears in her eyes.

"Sigyn was such a lovely woman, i miss her with whole my heart. it's so pity she had to die in that house fire, such a waste of talent and fairness. i can not believe she is gone." Embla sobbed. íona embraced her. The hours passed on as they sat there and talked about old memories.

"Do you remember when you first showed us this place?" íona said. Embla nodded slowly, yes she did.

 _It was a sunny afternoon. Égil had some duties to do, so Embla was all alone. But then the girl next door had knocked on their door. When Embla opened the door the girl asked if they could go outside and play. "..we could climb trees!" The girl suggested. Then suddenly Embla got an idea. "I have to show you something, follow me!" Embla grabbed the girl's hand and dragged her with her._

 _Another girl saw them as they walked away. "Hello! wait! Where are you going?!" She shouted after them. Embla turned around. "Oh, hello íona! Follow me and you will see!" Embla shouted back._

 _íona caught up with the girls. "Who is she? i have never seen her before" íona said breathless after running so fast, she pointed at the girl Embla dragged with her. "Oh, may i introduce myself, i am Sigyn Hjálmarrsdottir, and you are?" Sigyn said. "I am íona Ásgeirsdottir, pleasure to meet you Sigyn." íona smiled. Sigyn smiled back._

 _"enough talking, come with me now!" Embla cut them off. The girls began to walk._

 _They reached the tree after five minutes of walking. Both íona and Sigyn shined up as they saw the tree._

 _"A swing!" íona exclaimed. "A big tree!" Sigyn exclaimed. Embla smiled as íona tried the swing and Sigyn began to climb._

 _"Why don't play something." Embla suggested. "Yes! Let's pretend we are royal family!" íona said. "Good idea! I am Thor and you can be Frigga!" Sigyn said and pointed at íona. "...and you can be Odin!" She continued and pointed at Embla._

 _Embla frowned._

 _"No! I want to be Frigga!" She protested. Sigyn eye rolled._

 _"But it is just a game, come on please!" Sigyn sighed. Embla disliked the idea but then she nodded. "Very well, i am Odin. But then i am in charge, i tell you what to do and then you do as i say!" Embla smirked. "No, we are not servants. but ok, you are in charge then, but we do not serve you and do as you please all the time." íona murmured._

 _"ok let's start then!" Sigyn exclaimed. The game was on._

 _They played for hours, they laughed and yelled and argued._

 _But after a while, a boy reached the tree and sat down against it and started to read a book. Embla recognized the boy, it was the same boy as she and Égil met here three years ago._

 _Sigyn walked towards the boy. "Who are you?" She asked with curiosity. The boy raised his gaze from the book. "me?" he asked surprised._

 _"yes, you!" Sigyn sighed. The boy He started to fiddle with his fingers, he seemed nervous. "uh, i am Loki.." He began. "Oh! Perfect! we need someone to play a servant!" Sigyn said as she dragged him up. "W-What..?" Loki stammered._

 _"Good idea! Loki, you can be our servant. You see, we are playing that we are the royal family. I am Odin, íona is Frigga and Sigyn is Thor! you got it?" Embla declared. Loki only laughed. "Sounds lovely, but if you excuse me, i have to continue reading my book." He said shortly. "No! books are boring! come and play with us instead! Oh pleeaasee!?" The girls begged. Loki finally gave up and sighed. "fine, i'll do it."_

 _The girls cheered and then they continued to play._

 _"Servant! I'm hungry! Cook us some food!" Embla demanded. "Yes your majesty, but what do you want to eat?" Loki asked. "I want turkey! Sigyn boomed. Loki giggled as Sigyn tried to imitate Thor. "Of course, my prince. A turkey is on its way!" Loki exclaimed._

 _It was getting late and the sky darkened. They were all tired, they had stopped the game and now they were sitting against the tree, talking about life and other stuff._

 _"Loki, why did you come here?" Sigyn asked, she was sitting next to him and had many times tried to reached for his hand, but Loki didn't seem to get it. Or maybe he didn't just want to. "Why i came here? Well.. you see, where i come from, you are not allowed to do what you want. There are always people who already have plans for you. So i escaped. I just wanted to read my book, to be alone for a while. Obviously that didn't work here either" Loki glared at them._

 _"sorryyy" The girls said quietly. They sat there tensed for a minute, then they all burst out laughing._

 _"But Loki, you seems to live in a horrible place. Where do you come from?" Sigyn asked him. Loki sighed. "That doesn't matter" He said. "i wish i lived it the palace. Imagine what a wonderful life I would have if I only was a member in the royal family. Then i could do whatever I want whenever i want!" íona said. Loki laughed. "How can you be so sure of that?" He said. íonas eyes widened. "how can you not?!" She responded._

 _When it was time to go home. Sigyn wanted to take Loki home. "Come on Loki! It will be fun!" She begged. Loki shrugged. "Ha, why not?" he said. Both íona and Embla noticed that Loki was really trying hard not to show how happy and surprised he was that someone actually was asking him to come over._

 _"I bet he doesn't have any friends" Embla whispered to íona. "yeah, he tries to act like he's used to it, but it's really obvious that he is not." íona whispered back. As they all went home to their homes, Sigyn took Loki with her._

 _Since that day, Loki and Sigyn became friends, best friends. Sometimes, Embla suspected they were even more than just friends._

íona and Embla laughed at the memory, but then Embla frowned.

"What happened to him?" She murmured. "Who?" íona asked. Embla sighed. "Loki, what happened to him? suddenly he just disappeared. i have not seen him for years." Embla said concerned. íona's smile faded.

"oh, Loki, he.. he is in prison." íona said shortly and looked away. "What!? He? In prison?" Embla gasped. íona nodded. "Yes, i'm afraid so, and that's not the only bad news…" íona sighed sadly. Embla's eyes widened. "What is it? tell me!" Embla begged.

"Loki is dying." íona whispered.

Embla couldn't believe what she heard. They sat there, dumbfounded. "W-Why? And can you be so sure of that?" Embla said after a while. "i'm a healer, you know that. They sent me to investigate him" íona answered. Embla swallowed heavily. How could Loki possibly be in prison?

Loki who was so kind and shy, who always treated everyone with respect, even if they didn't deserve it. How? How was this even possible?!

"I know you are confused, it's a long story, i'm surprised that you didn't knew-" íona began. "Why is he in prison?!" Embla cut her off. "Loki has committed some serious crimes, i don't know him so well as you and Sigyn do, especially not as Sigyn did, I only met him twice, when we were young, and now when i investigated his body. But i do know this, Loki was sentenced to life time prison, then he started to hallucinate. Loki suffers from some sort of delirium. His life's in danger, but do not worry, Eir got this. She will heal him." íona calmed her.

"i hope so, but why would he committed a crime? It doesn't sounds like him, the Loki i once knew wouldn't do that! And why did Sigyn never told _us_ about that? if someone knew something about Loki, it would be her." Embla said.

She gasped as she realized she spoke of Sigyn as if she still was here with them.

"I do not have the answers you are looking for, but i have an idea. Why don't you just go visit him yourself? I think he is the only one who have the right answers." íona suggested. Embla shrugged. "yeah, maybe…" She murmured. Suddenly íona frowned. Embla noticed her darkened eyes. "What bothers you my dear?" she asked. íona looked up on Embla. "Loki didn't recognized me…" íona whispered. "What...? What do you mean?" Embla asked confused. "When i visited Loki in his cell, he looked upon me as if i was just a stranger." íona explained concerned. Embla laughed softly. "i do not think you need to be worried. After all, he only met you once, and that was many many years ago now." Embla said. But Emblas words didn't seem to calm her.

"but he have such a brilliant mind, he should remember me, even you has told me Loki's memory was unnatural good. " íona said.

Embla frowned, íona was right, Loki would have remembered her...


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Loki woke up. It was early in the morning. He sat up and gazed around. Everything was normal, no trees, no Frigga, no broken mirror, no spiders, nothing at all.

Loki felt strange. Everything felt distant. But the dizzy feeling he used to have was long gone and he felt alert and strong, not weak and mentally unstable like he did before. But Loki didn't care, not much. He rose up and walked to the broken table on the floor. He remembered smashing it against the glass wall that night along with the other objects in the cell. He sighed. Why did he have do that? How could he overreact like that on some harmless knockings?

He was such a shame, a weakling.

He wished the girl who investigated him was here now, he felt so safe with her, he could trust her, why? he didn't know. It was something familiar about her...

Suddenly Loki heard a scream. He spun around. No one stood outside the cell, except the guard. Now, when Loki thought about it, the guard felt familiar as well.

But it couldn't have been the guard who screamed, it was a female voice. The scream was distant, like he'd heard it through water. The voice had been very familiar. Suddenly Loki recognized the voice.

It was Frigga, no doubts!

"Mother? Mother!?" Loki's voice cracked anxiously. Maybe that thing who possessed Frigga had hurt her. He suddenly heard violent sobs, Frigga's sobs. "MOTHER?!" Loki cried. _No no no! Not her! Anyone but not her!_ He spun around and the anger began to grow. "Don't you dare touch my mother whoever you are!" Loki spat out. Of course, he got no answer.

Suddenly Loki heard a whisper, a familiar soft voice. "We can finally be together now, for eternity" The whisper calmed Loki for a moment. But then his eyes widened.

"What do you mea... WHO'S THERE?" Loki gasped. He only heard a soft chuckle in return. Loki swallowed heavily.

"J-Just tell me who you are, w-what you want and how the hell you got in h-here! Loki stammered. This time he heard nothing. Loki dropped on his knees and began to cry.

"W-What's happening to meee!?" He wailed. He couldn't stop the tears from running down his cheeks. He couldn't hold it back anymore. He cried for hours, he couldn't stop. He felt so ridiculous and weak, he tried really hard to shape up and put himself together, but he just couldn't.

Finally, he calmed down a little. Soon he fell asleep, exhausted and tired after all crying.

* * *

Back on earth in Jane's hotel room, the party was on.

"It's an honer to finally meet you Mr. Stark." Jane said. "You can call me Tony" Tony Stark smirked as he reached for her hand and kissed it gently. Jane blushed and looked awkwardly away. "Stark! Do not think you can steal my lady!" Thor boomed. Tony looked up. "Sorry, can't hear you, the music is too loud!" He shouted.

"I-I'm sorry, I have to go and check out Darcy." Jane said and walked towards Darcy.

Darcy had insisted to be the DJ.

"It's not a party without a DJ you know!" She had said. Darcy looked up when Jane reached her. "Hi Darcy, how is it going?" Jane said.

"Oh! I think they love it, HEY! ISN'T THE MUSIC JUST AWESOME?" Darcy shouted.

"Nah, I don't think girly pop-techno is that awesome, wanna know what's awesome? AC/DC! That's the real stuff!" Tony shouted back. Jane eye rolled. Suddenly Steve reached them. "Excuse me, but can you show me the way to the bathroom please?" He asked awkwardly. Darcy burst out laughing. "Uh, of course! Follow me." Jane smiled as she showed Steve the way to the toilet.

The party continued.

Darcy and Clint ended up fighting about which music the should play. "I think we should play Praxis by JFS! C'mon! It's a really cool song! Darcy exclaimed. "Techno isn't cool Darcy, Bob Marley is cool! Clint protested. Darcy crossed her arms. "Maybe, but Bob Marley isn't party music! Everyone knows a good party needs a super beat!" Darcy argued. "No I think y-" Clint was suddenly cut off by Bruce.

"Pay attention everyone! I heard we was going to watch a movie! Am I right? And if, then which movie should we watch?!" Bruce shouted. Everyone fell silent, but that was not to be.

"I think we should watch Lord of the Rings" Natasha said. "No! We should definitely watch Annabelle!" Darcy shouted.

"Ha! Annabelle is not even scary! Loki is scary though." Tony laughed. "Unfortunately Loki is not a movie. We're talking _movies_ okay?" Clint sighed as he eye rolled. "Hey! Shouldn't Loki just be one big horror movie?" Tony said. Darcy shrugged.

"Please focus! Which movie should we watch!?" Bruce barked. "But what the hell! That's a good idea. Loki, the movie! Beware of the lie smith!" Darcy continued.

"We shall not discuss my brother here!" Thor boomed. Everyone laughed. "Like what? Loki pops up every time you say his name. Or is it a voldemort-thing? Do never utter his name! It's _dangerouuus!_ " Tony mocked. Natasha's eyes widened.

"OMG YES! Let's watch Harry Potter!" Natasha shouted. Everyone looked at her. "Which one?" Clint asked. "The first! Thor has never seen it, he should be introduced!" Jane suddenly said. Everyone turned around. Jane an Steve has returned.

"Look! The princess is back!" Tony said. "Hey! Only because i'm a girl you don't have to call me princess!" Jane protested. "I didn't talk to you." Tony smirked and nodded in Steve's direction. Steve on the oter hand didn't seem to notice it.

"Nah, I've seen that one like thousands of times! I think we should watch Hunger Games!" Bruce sighed. Everyone shrugged. "Yeah, why not?"

After ten minutes arguing, they all agreed to watch Hunger Games.

They all curled up in the couch, Jane and Thor hugged each other tightly. "What exactly _is_ a movie?" Thor whispered. "Um, it's like a pict-" Jane began. "Hey can you love birds shut up? The movie has began!" Tony cut her off. Everyone fell silent as the movie started.

Ten minutes later Thor couldn't stay silent. "For not so long ago, I would have done the same for Loki" Thor murmured as Katniss took her sister's place. Jane grabbed his hand and squeezed it softly.

"Omg! Shut up!" Clint uttered in annoyance. But Thor couldn't stop think about his little brother. As he saw Katniss take care of her sister Thor's heart ached. He remembered when he used to save Loki from bullies, when he had to reassure him that everything was going to be okay, that the nightmares wasn't real.

He remembered his brother. What now sat in Asgard's dungeons wasn't Loki, not his Loki.

Thor missed his brother, how he used to be.

* * *

 **Three week earlier**

Frigga was perplexed when she first heard of it. Sigyn died in a house fire. She couldn't believe it. Sigyn, who Loki always talked about in his youth, Sigyn who Loki one day dragged home, Sigyn who used to eat dinner with them. Sigyn was Loki's everything, his best friend, his only friend.

Frigga's heart ached when she thought of how Loki would react when he heard of it. Frigga had told Odin about it and asked how they should tell Loki about it. Odin on the other hand wanted to keep him away from the truth. He didn't want them to tell Loki at all. Frigga was against Odin's idea.

"truly it would tear him apart, but if he finds out it himself, he'll be more broken than ever before, it's our duty as parents to tell him!" Frigga said.

"But we are not his parents." Odin said coldly.

"How dare you utter such things! We are his family! We raised him up as our so-" Frigga began.

"Enough!" Odin cut her off.

Every time they argued about it, it always eded up like this. Frigga walked away in rage. She wanted to tell him so badly, she didn't want to lie to him any further. She had to tell him, as soon as possible. She just needed to convince the Allfather. He needs to understand that keeping Loki from the truth would only make things worse. Loki might lose his mind, but at least they would have told him the truth. Sigyn, Loki's soul mate, was dead, Frigga couldn't do anything about it. She wished she could, she wished she possessed the power of bringing people back from

the dead, but now she couldn't. Frigga sighed as she walked into her chamber. She laid upon her bed and sighed heavily.

 _What should I do?_ She thought as she closed her eyes.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Égil woke up to a voice. "Hello there. i'm sorry for doing this, but you were so close to ruin my plans. I don't want to hurt you, but if you try anything, then i have to. Understand?" A woman said. She bowed over Égil who laid on the floor.

It was Frigga.

"Where am i?" Égil asked. Frigga smiled sadly. "I wish i could tell you, but i can't trust you, i can't trust anyone anymore. Not even-" Frigga began. "Not even, who?" Égil asked quietly. Frigga slowly shook her head but said nothing. Then she sighed. Frigga reached for his cheek and caressed it slowly. They sat there for a while before Frigga spoke up. "I just want you to know that your sister is alright. I've seen her, She mourns for her… her friend, and she is worried about you, but she is alright. She take care of your mother well, and she works hard to keep the farm, but she is strong. You mustn't lose hope" She whispered. Égil felt so calm and relieved when he heard Frigga's soft words. But, how could the queen know so much about Embla? How did she even knew he had a sister? Égil frowned.

"How can you know so so much about me?" He whispered. Frigga stared at him for a little while but then she quickly put herself together. "Uh, I do not understand your question?" She said. Égil could clearly see the nervosity in her eyes. "I'm sorry your highness, but how can you even know i _have_ a sister?" Égil said confused. Frigga tilted her head slightly.

"Must there always be a reason?" Frigga sighed. Égil shrugged. She was right. Frigga was the queen after all. Maybe, when you are a member of the royal family, you always know everything about everyone? But then another thought popped up in Égil's mind. Speaking of the members of the royal family... "My queen, i have some bad news about Loki, your son. His, eh… his cell is under a spell you see. I think Loki is hiding something behind an illusion." Égil said. Frigga pretended to be surprised. "Oh, is it so? Then let me take care of that. After all, I am his mother…" Frigga began, then she leaned forwards.

Her gaze pierced his eyes. "Let it be _our_ little secret, do not tell anyone! understand?" She whispered, there was a threat in her voice. Égil nodded quickly. He didn't dare to question the queen.

"Aye, you have my word" He reassured. Frigga smiled warmly. Then she gazed away, she seemed concerned. Égil rose his eyebrows. "What bothers you my queen?" He asked. Frigga looked up again. She cleared her throat before she spoke.

"Speaking of Loki, how is he? You should know." Frigga asked. Égil took a deep breath.

"He has been acting weird the last weeks, but for now he seems to be okay, if he doesn't hide it behind the illusion of course... I'm sorry my queen, but i think you have all reasons to be worried about Loki." He said quickly. Frigga lowered her eyes.

"I was afraid of that, i've heard he suffers from an mental illness. I'm afraid he is dying." Frigga sighed sadly. Égil's eyes widened. "But, isn't there a way to cure him?" He asked. Frigga slowly shook her head. "I am afraid not. I think we should just leave him be. "There is not much we can do…" She whispered. Égil nodded slowly. "I see. Maybe Loki's pass away is just the best for the realm" He murmured.

Frigga said nothing.

They sat there in silence for a while, then Égil spoke up. "Can you now please tell me where we are?" He suddenly asked anxiously as he gazed around in the room. They looked like to be in some sort of basement. Frigga shook her head "No need to, you are going to leave now anyway." She said shortly.

Frigga suddenly picked up a blindfold and put it on Égil's eyes. "What are you doing?" He asked as Frigga helped him on his feets.

"getting you out of here" Frigga said quickly as she led him out.

As soon as they got Frigga removed the blindfold. "Not a word, remember?" Frigga said in a menacing tone. "I promise! i will be quiet as a mouse!" Égil reassured. Frigga smiled again. "Now return to your position" Frigga demanded, Égil nodded and hurried back into the dungeons.

Frigga looked after him as he leaved.

"oh Égil…" She sighed. Then she turned around and walked back into the darkness.

* * *

Today was the day.

Thor's three days on earth was now over. He longed for his family more than he expected to. But to leave Jane would be hard, he would miss her more than ever.

Jane stood beside Thor outside, ready to take farewell of her love. She looked so sad, Thor's heart ached as he looked upon her. He really didn't want to leave her now, but he had to, she knew that. He promised the allfather only to stay for three days. Still it felt so wrong to leave her. Thor had his family, Jane had none.

"I am afraid i must leave now." Thor sighed heavily. Jane still had her eyes fixed on the ground. She said nothing.

"My love, i know it is hard, it truly is, but i must return to Asgard. They need me in these difficult times, war is upon the nine realms. I will do everything in my power to protect Midgard from the dangers of my world, but i can not do anything from here, you know that." Thor said. Jane looked up on Thor, her eyes filled with tears.

"I know.. When will i see you again?" She whispered. Thor closed his eyes. "I do not know, i wish i could tell you when, but i can not." He said. Jane sniffed. "We had such a great time, hadn't we?" Jane burst out. She couldn't stop the tears from falling down her cheeks. Thor embraced her. She cried on his shoulder.

"Do not cry my love, we should rejoice for those days we had together." Thor hushed the now violently sobbing Jane. "Yeah i know." She sniffed. Thor smiled. "Good, then let us take farewell now." Thor said as he slowly let go of Jane.

"Wait! I think you have forgotten something!" Jane exclaimed and suddenly dragged him close and kissed him. He kissed her back. They stood there for a long while before letting go of each other. "Thor, take care of you!" Jane shouted after him. Thor smiled.

"I will! Farewell Jane Foster!" He shouted back. Then Thor looked upon the sky. "Heimdall, Open the Bifrost!" Thor shouted. The rainbow bridge opened with a ray of light. Jane closed her eyes as it took her boyfriend up and away.

Thor had now returned to Asgard.

* * *

 **A few days earlier**

Loki has not eaten nor slept for days now, but still he was not hungry nor sleepy. Still, that did not concern him at all. There was little he actually cared about in these days. It was like the world outside did not concern him anymore. Loki lived in his own little world. The cell was now his only home, his territorium. No one could longer tell him what to do or not to do. In his cell, he was in charge. Sometimes he heard the whispers. Every time he heard the voice whispering soft words in his ear he always screamed his lungs out until the voice was long gone. He wanted to believe his screams scared the voice away. It strengthened him.

He felt so strong and alert now, his mind had sharpened and he could now think clear.

Still, the voice haunted him, it never gave up. After an hour or two, it always returned, whispering things like "We can finally be together" or "Loki, don't you remember our promise?" _What promise? I have not promised anything?_ Loki didn't even knew who the voice belonged to. All though, the voice seemed familiar to him.

Loki picked up a book and began to read it. He expected the voice to show up any minute now. He sat there tensed for a long while. He couldn't focus on reading the book, he could only think of the voice. After a few minutes he lost his patience.

"Come on then! don't be shy! you never used to!" Loki burst out, but got no reply. "Come here, come here where ever you are so i can just SCARE YOU AWAY and make sure you NEVER COMES BACK!" He screamed. No answer. Loki smirked. "I know what you are doing, you are trying to fool me! TO MAKE ME LOSING IT! But i am not going to fall for your little tricks again, oh no! This time, _I_ am going to win!" Loki laughed. Then he sat there in silence for a long while. "STOP PSYCHE AGAINST ME! I AM NOT SCARED!" Loki screamed.

Suddenly Loki felt a cold hand on his shoulder. Loki flinched, then he spun around. No one was there. Then he began to laugh maniacally as he slowly moved back. "HA! I knew you would give up! You can't fool me!" Loki spat.

"come one Loki, shape up. you are better than this, you know that" A whisper mocked right behind him. Loki spun around again. "w-what do you mean?! SHOW YOUR SELF!" He yelled. "You are not ready yet." the voice sighed. Loki backed away into the corner.

"What do you mean _not ready yet_? Ready for what?!" Loki hissed in annoyance and confusion. The voice chuckled slightly. "You will see, in time." It responded. Loki didn't understand. "Why are you doing this to me?" Loki whispered. this time, he got no reply.

"Answer me!" Loki demanded. But the voice was gone now...


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

 **12.30 pm**

Loki couldn't see anything. Only the darkness surrounded him. The cell had no windows. And candles was forbidden for some reason, so nothing could light up the room in night time. Loki couldn't sleep. He was not even tired. He sat on the bed wide awake and stared out at nothing, lost in his thoughts. His eyes never seemed to get used to the darkness. Loki sighed in frustration. He was so bored. He could not even read, it was too dark.

Something has to be done!

Loki closed his eyes and tried to concentrate, he might still be able to use his magic. Then he could at least conjure some light. With a wave of his hand Loki tried to create a flame, but it didn't work. Loki frowned. It should work, it should not even be an effort for him. This shouldn't happen. Something was wrong.

To use magic was like to breathe for Loki, it happened by itself. But now, it was like a barrier inside Loki, keeping him away from his magic. Loki howled in frustration. This has never happened to him before! Another thig Loki could put on his Impossible-List. But this really concerned Loki. No matter how weak Loki felt, he has always been able to use magic, this wasn't supposed to happen. It was impossible. Loki laughed bitterly, his whole life seems to be impossible. Loki drowned in his own thoughts again.

But after an hour or two Loki's eyes got used to the darkness. He gazed around the room. Suddenly his eyes fell upon the mirror on the wall. Loki's eyes widened. _What? wait, but...WHAT?_ How can the mirror be back, not even broken this time! Loki began to laugh. "Everything!" he screamed. "Everything seems to be possible!" Loki realized everything he normally thought as impossible was now happening to him.

Everything was possible.

Loki dropped on his knees. "Why? _Why_ is everything possibl-" he whispered but was cut off. "You there! Don't sit there and cry like the big baby you are! Stant up you runt!" A voice demanded. Loki wasn't surprised anymore, he was used to it, to hearing voices everywhere. He actually ignored it this time. "Oh come on! Don't you dare pretend i am not here! But, what did i expect? Attention? No, because no one ever listen to us. They always ignores us, don't they?" The voice said bitterly.

Loki looked up, it was his own voice. The voice came from the mirror. Loki slowly rose up. _I have finally lost my mind, haven't I?_ Loki slowly moved closer until he stood right in front of the mirror. Of course, the only thing he saw was his own reflection.

"Loki. I'm sorry for doing this, but this is the only way we can talk" His own reflection suddenly said.

Loki jerked back, then he grabbed a book and threw it on the mirror. The mirror shattered.

"I WILL NEVER TALK TO YOU! NEVER!" Loki screamed.

"You can't escape me" The voice said right behind him. Loki spun around. On the wall behind hanged another mirror. Loki backed away. "What do you want?" He gasped. He wanted to get out of here! He wanted to die.

"why don't you just kill me? I do not have time for your little games! Just do what you came for!" Loki's voice cracked. His reflection chuckled. "Oh no Loki, I am not here to kill you, I am just here to talk with you" He said. Loki rose up.

"Talk? What do you mean _talk_? Talk about what?" Loki snorted. His reflection tilted his head. "About everything, about nothing. Just talk" He said. Loki glared at the mirror but didn't answer. His reflection sighed. "Ok, let's talk about your situation." The reflection said. Loki frowned.

"What situation?" Loki asked as he slowly walked closer.

"Exactly…" His reflection smirked…

* * *

Eir has been in Frigga's basement or whatever it was for five days now. Everyday she woke up by being tortured or _punished for her Mistakes_ as Frigga called it.

But Eir was strong, she never gave up, she didn't scream, she faced the pain because Eir still had hope. She wondered why Frigga or whoever she was tortured her, she hasn't done anything wrong, has she?

It was early in the morning when Eir suddenly woke up. She opened her eyes and expected Frigga to show up any minute now with a knife in her grip. But this morning, Eir woke up alone. She was relieved for the moment. Eir suddenly realized she now had time to focus on other things than the fear for Frigga.

She could actually think clear now. Eir have been in here for a few days now, so she've had time to localize the place, she knew every inch, every detail in here. She even knew where the exit doors was.

Eir just needed to release herself from the chains. every chain rubbed her skin. She even bled on the places where the chains had digged into her skin, created deep gashes. Eir wanted so badly to get out of there. But Eir was clever, so she started to figure out an escape plan. She could might even use her magic on Frigga, maybe to reveal the person behind Frigga's features. Eir admitted she was pretty curious.

Who was it? who in Asgard could possibly have reasons to torture a healer? What was the reasons? Was there even any reasons? Suddenly the doors opened and Frigga stepped inside. Eir swallowed heavily. _No, not again_. She would not be able to stand the pain anymore. It would be too much. Her body wouldn't bare it, she would collapse. Eir would die if Frigga opened the deep wounds again. This time, she _would_ die. Eir focused, she had to do something drastic.

"Good morning! did you sleep well?" Frigga asked as she slowly reached Eir. Then she frowned. "how rude to not answer me! I asked you a question… but, i can not expect any kindness from you, it is truly not in your nature." Frigga mocked. Then she smiled. "Oh, i am so sorry, i forgot you still have the muzzle." Frigga chuckled. _You forgot a lot more than that! you forgot i have magic._ Eir thought. Frigga slowly caressed Eir's cheek. Suddenly her eyes was filled with compassion.

"I think you have learned your lesson, right? is it not time to release you now?" Frigga whispered slowly. "But i would miss you so badly, we've had such a great time together, don't you agree? It would be pity to let an opportunity like this slip away." She sighed as she walked around Eir. "You, you are something special. You are strong, i can feel it! You have been a challenge for me. And i won't ever regret that i accepted that challenge. I am addicted to you now, i can't just let you go." Frigga whispered softly in Eir's ear. Eir shuddered. Frigga grabbed a knife.

 _come on now, think!_ Eir tried to focus.

Soon, it would be too late to perform any kind of magic at all. Soon, the pain she was about to experience would be too overwhelming. Eir needed to wait until the exact moment, it will fail if she does it too early or too late.

What Eir was about to with her magical skills reveal whoever this imposter was. Then Eir would break free by melt down the chains around her and take the imposter to the guards. Then she'll have to return to the healing rooms. Eir guessed she will have to heal herself before she started to heal others.

"So, what are we going to do today? Should i start with your face?" Frigga smirked as she caressed Eir's cheek with the blade.

"I think we should do something about your nose, don't you?" Frigga said. Frigga's grip tightened around the knife as she tickled Eir's nose with the blade. "I think we better get started." Frigga said. Eir inhaled deeply. _Now!_ Eir conjured a purple flame in her hands and suddenly shot them against Frigga. The purple flames hit Frigga in the eyes and she dropped on her knees. The fire spread along her body in a second and burned up her skin. The purple flames swallowed her body. The thing that scared Eir was that Frigga didn't scream in pain, instead she laughed.

Suddenly the flames disappeared. Frigga stood up, but she was no longer Frigga. What Eir saw was a shadow of a young maiden. Two burning eyes pierced Eir. "You will regret this! Eir Halvardsdottir!" The shadow hissed before it disappeared in a black cloud of smoke.

 _That was easy, almost too easy…_ Eir didn't understand. Who is this shadow? A different species? An ancient creature who's hidden in the dark? An illusion, a trick? Or maybe, it was a lost soul? Eir corrected herself. There is no such things as lost souls, every soul belongs to Hela, the goddess of death. She would never let a single soul slip away, Hela wasn't careless like that. It could not be a lost soul, that's not even an alternative. Eir pushed away her thoughts. Now, she needs to break free.

Eir grabbed one of the chains next to her hands, then she sent away a heat through the chain which spread quickly to the other chains. Eir had closed a barrier over her body which protected her from the liquid iron. As soon as the chains melt down Eir rose up and took off the muzzle from her face. The deep gashes on her ankles from the chains still hurts. After lying still in the same position for five days, she felt pretty dizzy as she stood up. She stacked towards the exit doors and opened them. The sunlight blinded her and she covered her face with her hands.

As soon as she got out she collapsed. She was to tired and dizzy to notice she was lying in a meadow. Eir slowly sat up and began to heal her wounds. She started with the smallest gashes on her ankles, then she began with the deeper. As soon as the worst wounds and gashes was healed she slowly rose her hands to her face and began to heal her stabbed eye. The eye was a more serious case. There was no guarantee she could restore it. Eir might be half blind för the rest of her life if she didn't treat the eye with caution.

The healing process took over ten minutes. Suddenly the vision in her left eye came back. Eir blinked a few times before collapsing again. She laid there on the grass and thanked the norns for letting her survive. She did it, she escaped, she survived! Eir laughed relived.

Suddenly she sat up. Where was she? Eir guessed she was far from the palace.

how do i get back home?


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

As soon as Thor arrived he hurried inside the palace.

He longed to narrate the happenings on Midgard to his friends, to talk with his father again and embrace his mother, and he wanted so badly to collapse on the bed in his chamber. He also wanted to see the beautiful fields of Asgard again, to walk in the gardens with his mother and watch the flowers, to gaze into the midnight sky and count the stars, just as he and Loki used to do in their youth.

 _Loki._

Thor's throat tightened as he thought of his brother. Every time his brothers name passed through Thor's mind, he always felt that something was wrong.

Thor remembered how Loki always wanted to go outside at midnight to watch the stars, even if they were not allowed to go out after ten. Thor remembered how he and Loki had sneaked past the guards and when they came outside, Loki showed Thor the way to the meadows and pulled him down onto the grass. As they laid there on their backs and gazed upon the sky, Loki always started to tell Thor about the stars. He showed Thor the constellations, and told him all the names of the stars, Loki told him which galaxies they belonged to. And Thor always wondered how a boy so young could know so much.

But that laid in the past, times has changed. The Loki Thor once knew is dead.

Thor admitted he tried everyday to forget about Loki, to deny his very existence. Loki was nothing more than evil, that's for sure. Thor tried to act as if Loki was just another prisoner, any other criminal. But the fact that Loki still was his brother made it impossible for Thor to totally ignore him. And the feeling of that something was wrong didn't make it any easier.

All though, Thor could not deny he was concerned about his brother. He actually wanted to visit him, to make sure everything was okay. But first he wanted to visit his parents and his friends. When Thor entered the golden halls he was greeted by smiling faces, old friends welcomed him back. When he met Sif and the warriors three, there was a lots of hugs and laughs. They exchanged stories and anecdotes over an enormous feast and much mead.

After that, Thor went to see his father. But when he arrived, Thor was greeted by a concerned figure on the throne. Odin looked up and gazed into Thor's eyes. There was a melancholy over the king. Thor stopped walking, he stood now a few meters from his father.

"What concerns you father? Has something happened?" Thor asked. The Allfather sighed but said nothing. Thor frowned. "Where is mother?" Thor asked. Finally Odin managed to speak. "She...She is in the garden. She wanted to be alone for a while" Odin said. "Why? Has something happened to her?" Thor burst out. When no answer came, Thor rushed outside to search for Frigga. He wanted to make sure she was okay, he wanted to speak with her.

Thor walked into the gardens of the palace and hurried to the big oak. He knew that was Frigga's favorite place and he knew she would be there. Of course he was right, Thor knew his mother well. When he reached the oak he saw Frigga's figure sitting on the bench beneath the tree. He hurried to her side. When Thor sat down beside her he realized she was crying.

She was covering her face with her both hands, Soft sobs escaped through her thin, old fingers.

* * *

"Ok, let's talk about your situation." The reflection said. Loki frowned.

"What do you mean? What situation?" Loki asked as he walked closer.

"Exactly…" His reflection smirked. Loki's anger began to grow inside him. "What do you mean _exactly_ !? Do you want to scare me? do you think yourself scary huh? Oh! Look how absolutely terrified i am!" Loki said in sarcasm. He was getting sick of it.

He just wanted to be alone. "I am not here to scare you either, silly! I said; I. want. to. talk. Understand?" The reflection said clearly and eye rolled. "okay, talk then. I am listening" Loki said. The reflection took a deep breath before he spoke up.

"Okay. Loki, you have to listen very closely. You suffered from a serious case of delirium earlier, but you seems to in top shape now. I can hardly believe you still suffers from it. But the real question is; why? Why are you free from it?" The reflection exclaimed.

Loki's eyes widened.

"A-Are you telling me i suffered from delirium! Delirium don't just heal by itself! You need medical care to cure a person with such a hard condition!" Loki gasped. The reflection nodded slowly. "Yeah, i know…" He murmured.

Suddenly Loki burst out laughing. "You must be truly daft to think that I would believe you! _Why_ would I? You are not even telling me who you are!" Loki spat. The reflection covered his face in his hands and let out a sigh of annoyance. "I have already told you; you are not ready yet" The other Loki said with a muffled annoyed voice.

That was it, Loki had lost his patience. "ENOUGH! I'm sick of this!" Loki barked. He rose up and walked towards his bed.

"And what are you going to do?" His reflection snorted.

"I'm going to end this hell once and for all" Loki muttered as he picked up a pillow and pulled off the pillowcase and put it over his head. The other Loki's eyes widened as he realized what Loki was about to do. "No! Stop! I can explain everything! Just don't commit suicide! It won't help!" The reflection shouted. Loki only laid down on the bed in respond. "Okay! you got me. I can tell you whatever you want only if you put that thing off your head, now!" The other Loki yelled in frustration. He got no answer. Finally the other Loki lost his patience. "LOKI! It won't work! you _can't_ die!" Loki's reflection screamed. Then he realized his mistake and covered his mouth with his hands.

Loki slowly took off the pillowcase from his head and sat up. "I beg your pardon?" Loki asked slowly.

The panic began to grow inside the other Loki. "Nothing, i said nothing!" He breathed. "You promised to tell me everything." Loki argued. "Just forget the last thing i said okay!?" His reflection begged in desperation but Loki didn't listen. "What did you mean _I_ _can't die_?" Loki asked. His eye pierced the other Loki, so he couldn't look away. "I never said that!" His reflection said in an attempt to act innocent. "Yes you did." Loki sighed. "You are hiding something. A truth, about me. Am i right?" He continued.

The other Loki closed his eyes. "Yes…"

* * *

After walking a whole day, Eir was exhausted. She couldn't find any way back to Asgard.

Earlier, she had walked into a forest, but after ten minutes she realized he was lost. Now Eir sat down and leaned against a tree near by. She was hungry after a whole day without eating. She needed to find a better place where she could sleep without being attacked by wild animals. But she was too tired to continue her walk.

Instead, Eir just sat there and watched the sunset.

"What are you doing here all alone? It's getting dark soon. Didn't you know that the woods are a dangerous place at night time?" Suddenly a voice said behind her. Eir spun around. Right behind her stood a little elf. "I am lost, i was on my way back to the palace, but I can't find the way home." Eir sighed.

The little elf tilted her head. "I can help you home, but it's not safe to go at night, i suggest you spend the night in my bothy." The elf said. Eir shrugged. _Why not?_ But a little voice in the back of her head warned her. Eir knew she should never trust a stranger. "Who are you?" Eir asked.

"I am Aslog, daughter of Eindride. And you are?" The elf asked. "I am Eir, Daughter of Halvard." Eir said. The elf smiled. "A pleasure to meet you Eir Halvardsdottir. But you better come with me now before it's too late." The elf said and grabbed her hand. Eir stood up and followed the little elf.

After five minutes of walking, Eir and the elf suddenly reached a little house. "Look, we are almost there!" The elf said happily. Eir smiled. "Such an adorable little house" Eir exclaimed. Aslog ruched to open the door for Eir. "My lady." Aslog said and Eir chuckled.

 _The elf seems to be harmless, i do not think i need to be afraid._ Eir thought as she stepped inside.

Eir's eyes sparkled as she gazed around in the house. The walls was made of wood and the floor was covered with a red wall-to-wall carpet, the decor was beautiful, the the wooden chairs were beautifully made. Adorable, Everything was just so adorable! "Would you like me to show your room?" Aslog suggested. Eir looked down on her. "It would be lovely, but i am starving." Eir said. "Oh i see. Would you like some supper?" The elf asked. Eir nodded. "And a nice cup of tea please." Eir added. The elf nodded and rushed into the kitchen.

Eir liked this place, she wanted to stay here. She tried to imagine how it was like to live in such a charming little house like this. It would be like a dream come true. Eir sat there, lost in her thoughts when a little voice called for her from the kitchen. "My lady, the supper is ready!" Aslog shouted. Eir woke up from her thoughts and walked into the kitchen. There she found Aslog putting food on the table.

It smelled good in there, Eir closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of home.

"Take a sit please." Aslog said and patted on the chair next to her. Eir sat down and they began to eat. "Eir, may i ask, how did you get here in the first place? What's your story?" The elf asked.

Eir sighed and began to told her, she told her about Loki and his condition, she told her that she was kidnapped when she was about to tell the Allfather about Loki, she told her about Frigga and the basement, about the torture, and she told her about her escape plan and how her magic affected Frigga, she told her about the shadow with the shining eyes.

When Eir was done, they both just sat there in silence. Finally Aslog managed to say something.

"You must have suffered very much…" Aslog said quietly. Eir nodded. "But he real question is; Who was she? The shadow?" Eir asked. Aslog frowned.

"I do not know for sure, but I have a theory, I think we are dealing with a vengeful spirit." Aslog said bitterly...


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

"A vengeful spirit?" Eir asked sceptical. Aslog nodded slowly. "Yes, i think so.." She murmured. Eir shook her head. "No Aslog. After releasing a soul from its body, it returns to Hela. Everyone knows that Hela never would allow such a thing." Eir said. The elf sipped on her tea and let out a sigh. "haven't you heard the story about the crying bride?" Aslog asked. "I am i afraid not." Eir said briefly. Aslog sighed and began to tell the story.

" _Once upon a time, there was a young maiden. Her name was Oydis._

 _She was the fairest maiden of them all. She had long snow white hair, her skin was pale as a winter day and her eyes was burning red._

 _Despite Oydis' beauty, the people in Asgard despised her, because she was different._

 _Her lack of pigment scared them, and they claimed her to be a monster because of her red eyes._

 _Not many dared to speak with Oydis, and Oydis dared not to speak with them._

 _Wherever she went, people avoided her. She was always so lonely, her parents died when she was just the child._

 _No one cared for her and she lived all alone._

 _But One day, she met the love of her life, a young man named Geir._

 _Geir was tall and strong, his hair was long and dark, so was his skin._

 _His yellow eyes sparkled of light. Geir wasn't like the others Oydis met, he was different._

 _He didn't judged her, instead he saw the beauty in her and accepted her for who she was._

 _Oydis has never been happier. They were meant to be, nothing could tear them apart._ _so they decided to get married._

 _Together they built a little cottage and bought animals like horses, dogs and cats. Everything was going to be perfect._

 _Oydis was finally going to have the life she dreamed of._

 _On their wedding day, the bride was taken to the seamstresses. They sewed her a beautiful dress and decorated her with flowers._

 _Oydis was the most beautiful bride in Asgard._

 _Her long white hair was mixed with her veil, her dress, white as snow, billowed by the slightest movement._

 _Oydis adored her dress and she was so happy, she couldn't believe she_ _was actually going to get married._

 _When it was time, the crowd gasped as they saw the_ _bride walk towards her groom._

 _Her beauty blinded them all and for the moment, they forgot_ _what they usually thought of her._

 _Everyone adored the couple. they were perfect together._

 _Geir weared black clothes and his eyes burned like the sun._

 _The people thought them as perfection, one was white like snow and the other was dark like the midnight sky._

 _They were so beautiful together and everyone adored them._

 _When the ceremony was over, the feast began, they celebrated the new couple._

 _A week after the wedding, Oydis began to feel dizzy and she even started to vomit._

 _She went to the healers and they told her she was pregnant. Oydis could not be any happier, she was going to have a family! She was going to be a mother._

 _But she dared not to tell Geir, afraid he would leave her. She knew somewhere he wouldn't,_ _but still, she kept it as a secret._

 _After a couple of weeks the baby_ _had began to grow._

 _Oydis now wanted to tell Geir, or else he would notice it himself. She didn't want to anger him._

 _So one day, when Geir was in town to buy some fruits, Oydis decided to follow him and tell it,_ _that she was pregnant._

 _She rushed along the streets and hurried to the square._

 _But when she passed a building suddenly a wooden bucket was thrown from the second floor_ _and hit Oydis in the head._

 _It was such a hard blow it knocked her out._

 _A few minutes after the incident, Geir walked down the street with a bag full of fresh fruits._

 _Then his eyes fell upon the fallen figure on the ground. It was Oydis._

 _He rushed to her side and took her pulse. Then he began to scream and he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly._

 _Oydis was dead._

 _A month later Geir woke up in the middle of the night by soft sobs._

 _He went downstairs_ _and there in a chair sat a shadow with shining white eyes._

 _As he reached her, she looked upon him with teary eyes. He asked her who she was, but she only cried in response._

 _Geir asked it again but then she just disappeared in a white cloud of dust._

 _The next time he saw her was in the bathroom._

 _Geir was taking a bath when she suddenly showed up._

 _She sat on the floor against the door and sobbed. He jerked back._

 _Then he put himself together and_ _asked her again who she was and what she wanted._

 _Just at the last time, the shadow disappeared, but he could see she opened her mouth before she left, as she was about to say something._

 _The day passed slowly and Geir continued to mourn for his wife._

 _He missed her with whole his aching heart. He longed for her soft voice,_ _her kisses and her beautiful smile._

 _Suddenly his thoughts was cut off by soft sobs behind him._

 _He spun around and found the shadow sitting on a chair._

 _This time, Geir recognized her. It was Oydis. He said her name and she looked upon him._

 _Then she opened her mouth and managed to say something. She told him that she was pregnant._

 _As the words left her mouth, she suddenly began to fade. Geir begged for her to stay,_ _but she only shook her head._

 _When she was gone, the only thing left of her was a little cloud of light which floated away in the air._

 _That was the story of the weeping bride"_

The elf ended the story. Eir was dumbfounded by the sad story.

"you probably wonder what your story has to do with this story" Aslog continued. "Well, the point is that when a person dies with an unfinished business, the spirit is left to stay until it solves its last task." Aslog declared. Eir looked up. "What?" She breathed. Aslog nodded. "You see, i once had a lover. Her name was Anji. But when she died, i was sure her spirit still lingered here." She said. "Oh, i didn't know, i'm so sorry." Eir murmured. Aslog smiled sadly. But Eir could hardly believe in Aslog's story. It just didn't make sense.

"But why would Hela forget about those souls with unfinished business?" Eir asked sceptical. Aslog shrugged. "I do not know for sure, but my theory is that she leaves them to perform their last tasks. I think she gives them a second chance." Aslog said with a crooked smile.

Eir still didn't want to believe in it, but a part of her did. "So, let's say this shadow actually _is_ a lost soul, why would she torture me like that? What's her reason?" Eir asked.

"I don't think that's the question we should ask, i think the question we should ask is; What is her unfinished business? what is her last task?" Aslog said.

* * *

"What do you mean _You can't die_?" Loki asked, his eye pierced the other Loki, he couldn't look away.

"I never said that!" His reflection tried to act innocent. "Yes you did." Loki sighed. "You are hiding something, a truth about me, am i right?" He continued. The other Loki closed his eyes. "Yes..."

Loki stood there for a moment in silence, he waited for his reflection in the mirror to answer. But he didn't. "Well? You have my attention" Loki said and clasped his hands behind him. The other Loki looked away, avoiding Loki's piercing gaze. "First, i think i have to show you something… Look behind you" the other one sighed. "Why?" Loki asked suspiciously. "Just, turn around!" The other begged. Loki spun around. What he saw in front of him was a young maiden with golden blonde hair.

"Sigyn...?" Loki whispered.

It was Sigyn, his best friend, maybe more. But what is she doing here? how can she even be here?! there is no way she could have got in here without being captured, the guards should have noticed her. "Loki." She responded with a melancholic smile. But Loki did not smile back.

"what do you want?" Loki asked quietly. Even though he was full of questions, he could only manage to ask this. "I only wanted to be with you, to see you again. it has been many years since we last met." She said.

"It was you, wasn't it?" Loki asked sternly.

"what do you mean?" Sigy asked. "You know what i mean, it _was_ you!" Loki hissed. Sigyn took a small step back. "You, you did this to me. you tortured me with these images, these hallucinations! Ang do you know what? I think you have success, you have _made_ me suffer, just as you said." Loki continued. His anger began to grow inside him. "I never said that!" Sigyn protested.

"How could you do this to me?! You are my ONLY friend! I thought we had something. Something special!" Loki screamed, his eyes brimming with tears.

"But we have! we have something _very_ special! Loki please!" Sigyn pleaded, but Loki continued. " _You_ made my life in here a living hell in here!" He spat. "No! that's not true! it wasn't me!" Sigyn was now in tears as well. "LIAR!" Loki screamed. Sigyn took a deep breath.

"Loki, look. Maybe i have done you wrong-" She began "You don't say!" Loki cut her off. Sigyn glared at him but continued. "... but i have never hurt you, it wasn't me who did it." She said calmly. Loki looked at her in disbelief. "Then who did it?" He asked. "No one! no one did it Loki. it was the delirium who did it." She explained. Loki frowned.

"Speaking of delirium, you told me i suffered from it right?" Loki asked bitterly. Sigyn nodded slightly and reached for his cheek but he backed away. "To get delirium you have to drug yourself with a poison for a _long_ time…" Loki continued. "...And i have not used drugs on myself. i never have." Loki said as he walked around the room. Loki noticed that Sigyn tensed when he uttered the words.

"But _y_ _ou_ poisoned me, didn't you!" Loki spat as he stopped in a movement. "No! Why would i!?" she gasped. "Yeah, why would you? What's your reasons? Is one of them that you hate me?" He snarled, but Sigyn saw the sadness filling his eyes instead of hate. "No" She whispered.

"Then what is it? Why are you doing this?!" Loki barked as he slammed his palm intoo the broken table.

"Because, I love you" She whispered.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Eir woke up next morning, the sunlight which lit up the little room, blinded her.

"Wakey Wakey!" A little voice said. Eir sat up and was greeted by a smiling Aslog. "Your breakfast is ready." Aslog sang. "Oh thanks, but you go first. i'll come." Eir said. The little elf nodded and hurried downstairs. Eir yawned. Her eyes was half opened and she wanted nothing more but go back to sleep. But she has to return to the palace and tell the Allfather about everything that happened. She slowly stood up and began to dress herself and braid her hair.

When Eir was finished she opened the door and went downstairs. The breakfast included some small eggs, ham, butter and cheese, and a fresh bread loaf. The smell of fresh bread filled Eir and she sighed happily. "I don't want to leave this place. I could stay here for the rest of my life" Eir laughed. She sat down and they ate in silence.

As soon as they were finished Aslog and Eir began to prepare for their depart.

"Are you sure you don't know the way back to the palace?" Aslog asked as she packed her little backpack full of provisions and other important stuff. Eir nodded. "I told you yesterday i was lost, or don't you believe me?" Eir asked. "Of course i do, it's just… i hoped you might remembered the way somehow. Because i don't." Aslog said concerned. But suddenly her eyes shined up. "Oh! Silly old me! How could i forget?" Aslog burst out. "Forget what?" Eir asked. The elf looked upon Eir with big eyes. "My map! I forgot I have a map of Asgard, we can use that to find the right path!" Aslog said as she ran away to search for it. Eir was left to continue packing.

She suddenly saw a little statue made of sapphire. It was a statue of a little bird. It was beautiful. Eir grabbed it quickly and put it in her pocket. She might need it, Eir could sell it and by a beautiful farm for the money.

A few minutes later, Aslog came back with a map in her hand. Eir shined up.

"Here it is! so, we are right here now." Aslog said as she pointed on a specific point on the map. Eir could never had find the spot herself, but she guessed Aslog was more familiar with reading this sort of map.

"...And the palace is here." She continued and pointed at another spot on the map. This time, Eir could have easily guessed where the palace was. This spot was a lot more bigger than the other spots on the map.

"...So, which way should we take to get to the palace before sunset?" Aslog asked. Eir shrugged, she had no idea. "The fastest way as possible i guess?" Eir said. "Exactly! But which one of these ways _is_ the fastest then? Aslog continued. "Is this some sort of riddle?" Eir asked in confusion. Aslog raised an eyebrow.

"Eh, no…? ...anyway, I suggest we should take _this_ way" Aslog said and pointed convinced at one of the many paths on the map. "Okay, go for it." Eir shrugged. She let this whole thing over to Aslog, she seemed to have everything under control anyway.

"But we have to leave now if we are going to reach the palace before it gets dark. come on!" The little elf said as she grabbed her backpack and walked outside, Eir followed her.

As they began to walk the doubts grew striónger inside Eir. "Are you sure this is the right way? i mean, have u ever followed this map before?" Eir asked nervously. Aslog looked up from the map. "I can not remember i have walked _this_ specific way before , but i have truly followed this map before, yes." Aslog said calmly as she looked down on the map again. "But, how can you be so sure this _is_ the right way then?!" Eir asked in frustration and annoyance. Then suddenly Aslog stopped and Eir almost bumped into her. "I am not sure this is the right way, but this map the best thing have so far. Never before has this map showed the wrong way, why would it do that now?" The elf said. "Sorry, it's just... ah! nevermind." Eir said.

They continued their walk in silence.

* * *

"Why are you crying? did someone hurt you?" Thor bellowed, one hand ready to call Mjolnir.

There was a look of pure grief in his mother's eyes but she remained quiet.

"Answer me mother! who did this? and what did they do to you?!"

Frigga looked up at her son with teary eyes. Thor softened his voice as he saw the sorrow in her eyes and that whatever happened to her was a painful matter. "will you at least tell me what happened?" Thor asked as he reached her cheek and wiped her tears away.

Frigga dreaded to tell her son, but he deserved to know the truth. Just as Loki dese…

The queen only cried harder as her youngest son's name passed her mind. Thor caressed her cheek gently as Frigga cried into his shoulder. "Shh shh, everything's going to be okay, just tell me what happened" Thor hushed her. Frigga sniffed and put herself together.

"Of course.." She said with a hoarse voice, "...Shortly after your depart, i argued with your father of what should be done with your.. your brother. But unfortunately, Odin and i ended up disagreed. He wanted me to stay, instead I walked to check on Loki's cell…" She began with a trembling voice.

"Yes?" Thor asked. Frigga let out a sad sigh. It was three days ago but it felt like a year. She remembered it clearly.

 _Frigga felt that something was wrong as soon as she reached Loki's cell._

 _She could sense it. She saw loki lying in his bed, he seemed to sleep._

 _There was something about his cell, everything felt too perfect somehow. She realized there was a spell on it. Someone wanted to hide something. Frigga closed her eyes and tried to sense if there was some magic in the air, there was. She could sense the spell of an illusion, this view she saw wasn't real. With one gesture, Frigga waved her hand in the air slightly to reverse the spell. as soon as the illusion was gone she stared into her son's cell._

 _Loki sat there against the wall and stared out at nothing with unseeing eyes, he was unnaturally pale and on some places, the skin was rotten. His chest didn't move. He sat very still._ _Too still. It took a moment before the queen realized it._

 _Loki was dead._ _What she saw was the corpse of her youngest son._

 _Frigga began to scream._

 _She dropped on her knees._ " _No no no no no…" She whispered through her tears. "NOOOOO!"_ _When the guards heard Frigga's heartbreaking screams, they hurried to her side._ _But when they reached her they suddenly stopped and stared into the cage._ _The view was awful and one of the younger guards, the one who guarded Loki,_ _turned away and vomited._

 _"LOKI!" Frigga screamed. "My son! No! Not him! please, not him!"_ _The guards tried to comfort the violently sobbing queen, but when one of them came too close, she punched him hard in the face. The blow was so hard it threw him meters away._ _A threatful heat began to grew inside Frigga which pushed all the sorrow away. She stood up._

" _HOW COULD YOU?!" She bellowed as she suddenly spun around and faced a confused and disgusted Égil. "YOU guarded my son! YOU let him die! You let my poor baby suffer and YOU LET HIM DIE!" The anger inside the queen swelled up, ready to explode any second._

" _N-n-no, no your highness. I-I-I did not know i-it was an illusion" Égil stammered as he backed away. The tears streamed from Frigga's eyes. Then she suddenly attacked the young guard and knocked him down on the floor._

 _As he tried to get up, Frigga lowered upon him and began to beat him._ _She punched harder and harder as she screamed._ " _I was about to tell him the truth! He deserved to know the truth! ...Oh no, he deserved so much more,_ _SO. MUCH. MORE! He deserved a family who was there for him when he needed it! But we ignored him when he was in pain, we ignored him when he locked himself into his chambers and stayed there for three weeks! We should have told him everyday that he was loved, instead we never said a word. He didn't deserve to die-"_ _The last words came out as a hoarse sob but her eyes pierced the guard as she beated him._

 _The other guards suddenly grabbed the queen pulled her away from Égil._ _As they dragged her away, she screamed for her now dead son._

" _No! Get off me! I have to stay with him! I have to tell him that everything's okay! I can't leave him like this! He have to know i love him!" Frigga cried._

 _"Loki!"_

 _As soon as Frigga and the guards got out she began to run amok._

 _Inside the palace, chaos ran rampant. The servants were convinced the queen had finally lost her mind. But the guards took her to the Allfather. As soon as Frigga reached her husband, she collapsed in his arm. She cried and cried and cried as Odin caressed her gently._

 _He was confused and wanted to know what was wrong, but he let her continue._

" _I found him, he didn't move. He looked so sad but he didn't move." She whispered through her threw sobs. Odin frowned. "Who?" He asked sternly. Frigga finally managed to look up._ " _He was so lonely, no one ever visited him. He was so-" She began. "Who?!" Odin cut her off._

" _Loki…" She finally whispered._

Frigga took a deep breath. "Thor, your brother-" She began but was cut off but Thor.

"Loki? What trouble did he cause this time? Did he hurt you?!" Thor bellowed. Frigga slowly shook her head. "You have to promise me to remain calm" The queen said as she grabbed her sons hand. Thor looked confused upon his mother. "I promise" Thor said, but Frigga knew better. She knew Thor wasn't very good at controlling himself. But she owed him the truth. This time she wouldn't fail telling her son the truth, not this time. No more lies.

"Thor, your brother is... dead." Frigga's voice cracked as she uttered the words.

The world felt distant, like thor wall looking through a barrier. Everything slowed down for Thor. The time stood still. Frigga's words etched in Thor's head and filled his mind. He slowly shook his head. "what…?" He whispered. Frigga embraced her son, but Thor didn't understand. Nothing felt real, everything was like a distant dream, and Thor wanted this dream to end, he wanted to wake up.

"No, Loki is not dead, he is in prison, he is paying for his crimes in the dungeons. Didn't you know that?" Thor asked. Frigga hugged him tightly. "Oh Thor…" She sighed sadly. They sat there in silence for a while, hugging each other.

Suddenly Frigga felt something wet on her neck. It was tears.

The tears dripped from Thors eyes down on Frigga's neck. Frigga admitted she was surprised. She expected Thor to roar in anger, throwing things and destroy everything nearby. But instead Thor sat here calmly, crying in quietly. But that wasn't the only thing that surprised the queen. Thor never cried, she couldn't remember the last time she saw her elder son cry. Loki used cried often, but Thor never cried. But now he did.

The view of Thor crying over his brother, ached in Frigga's old heart.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

"Why are you doing this to me? do you hate me?" Loki snarled. But Sigyn saw the sadness filling his eyes instead of hate. "No" She whispered. "Then what?!" Loki barked as he slammed his palm on the broken table.

"I love you" She whispered as she lowered her eyes.

Loki slowly shook his head. "No, you don't." he said. Sigyn flinched. The anger inside her began to grow again. "You have no idea, NO IDEA what i have been through! I searched for you, but they told me you were dead. But i refused to believe in that. i searched for you for months! And when you came back-" Sigyn cut off, her eyes filled with tears. Loki's eyebrows wrinkled "What are you talking about? who told you what?" Loki said, he didn't understand. Sigyn slowly sat down on the floor. A tear trickled down her cheek as she closed her eyes.

She inhaled deeply. "They told me you fell from the bifrost, one year ago. But I couldn't accept that, i wanted so badly to tell you the truth, that i love you. So i continued to search for you. I never gave up on you, until i heard about your attack on Midgard." She said with a trembling voice. "I confess my attack on Midgard was a bad move, but is _that_ the reason? why you poisoned me so i could get this... this.. delirium? For how long did you do it?" Loki asked sternly. Sigyn opened her eyes.

"I never said your crimes was the reason, but you are right. I poisoned you. I have poisoned you ever since your attack on Midgard. "She said with a crooked smile. She could see how Loki opened his mouth as if he was about to say something, but he cut off. Then Loki suddenly took a step towards her and managed to speak up. "..W-What? But how?! How did you even get there?" Loki asked.

"I have my secrets…" Sigyn said with a smirk on her lips. Loki was sick of her secrets, he couldn't stand to look at her. He turned around and walked toward the glass wall. He stood there and observed the sleeping guard outside the cage. He recognized him, but he couldn't put a finger on who he was. Suddenly Loki felt a hand on his shoulder, he jerked but he didn't turn around.

"But one question still remains; Why cure me? You made me sick, but you cured me. Why?" Loki asked. He heard Sigyn laugh behind him.

 _What's so funny about that?_

"Oh Loki, I never said you were cured." She chuckled coldly. Loki froze. He stared with wide open eyes through the glass wall. Sigyn's hand slipped down along his torso, but Loki didn't care. She could do whatever she pleased. But her word concerned him, he didn't understand what was going on, but he wasn't even sure he wanted to. But his curiosity won.

"What do you mean? You said i was free from it!" Loki hissed.

"yes indeed, but i never said you were cured." She repeated. What!? This was absurd, it didn't make sense. How could he be free from it without being cured!? Loki was so confused he wanted to cry. But he remained calm. He could not allow himself to cry, to show weakness

"can you express yourself clear please? Just tell me what you mean!" Loki said in a slight frustration. "I'm afraid i can't tell you. but i can show you…" She said softly. "How?!" Loki uttered. Sigyn let go of Loki's torso and leaned in so close, her lips barely touched his ear. "Turn around" She whispered into Loki's ear. He frowned. "No." Loki snarled. Sigyn took a step back and tilted her head slightly. "Turn around Loki and you will get your answers" She said. Loki grinned. "Why?"

"Just. turn. around." She said sternly. Loki shook his head.

He could sense there was something, something wrong, very wrong. Suddenly the air smelled strange. One part of him did not want to turn around, but another part did. Loki couldn't think clear. He could feel Sigyn's eyes upon him. "What is behind me! Please why don't you just tell me what's behind me!" Loki pleaded. Why don't you turn around and see it yourself?" Sigyn mocked. Loki shook his head again.

"My so stubborn? Just turn around!" She sighed. Loki could slowly feel his curiosity taking over.

 _Don't do it! Don't turn around! Do. Not. Turn. Around._ Loki told himself. "Turn around!" Sigyn screamed. Her words echoed in Loki's mind. _Do not turn around. Do not, turn around. Turn, turn around. Turn around!_ Loki couldn't hold himself back. Loki slowly turned his head a little, then he suddenly spun around.

Loki suddenly flinched back and sank down on the floor as he covered his mouth with his hands. He began to hyperventilate.

What Loki saw was a slack man, leaning against the wall a few meters away. He didn't move. His eyes was wide open but unseeing, his motionless face expressed fear. He was deathly pale and his skin was… it was rotten, his skin was rotten. The man was dead.

The man was himself.

"No, no no no no.. No! How is this possible! NO!" Loki squeaked hoarsely. Loki curled into a little ball. Then he began to scream, disgusted and despaired. Sigyn walked towards him.

"Loki, you are dead." Sigyn said as she sat down next to him.

"b-but how?!" Loki stammered. "The delirium killed you" Sigyn smiled as she leaned her head against his shoulder. "So, _you_ killed me? _you_ wanted me to die! you call that _love_?!" Loki cried. "But Loki, now, we can finally be together. Now, nothing can tear us apart." She whispered. Loki suddenly rose up and Sigyn gave him a surprised look.

"Where are you going?" Sigyn asked. "Out, i'm going to leave this place! I can't stay a minute longer!" Loki said sternly as he wiped his tears away. "You can't." Sigyn sighed. Loki spun around. "And why is that?"

"Because.. you died in here. you are attached to this place." She said quietly as she lowered her gaze. Loki's eyes widened.

"NO! NO, I HAVE TO GET OUT!" Loki screamed in despair as new tears filled his eyes.

He throw himself against the wall, when it didn't work he did it again and again. Sigyn face palmed as Loki tried one last time and then dropped on his knees and began to cry as a baby. Sigyn eye rolled as she slowly reached the crying man on the floor. "I'm so sorry Loki, i didn't know you would be stuck in here. I-I thought you would at least be able to-" She began but Loki cut her off. "You didn't know huh? You just killed me. and of course, there is nothing strange at all about killing a friend!" Loki hissed through his tears.

Sigyn tilted her head. "Loki didn't you listen? now we can finally be together, forever! and nothing can stop us!"

She said with a smile. Loki looked upon her with teary eyes. "W-what do you mean" His voice cracked but Sigyn heard him. "Loki, your mother was about to tell you, I died, four weeks ago in a house fire. When you let the frost giants into Asgard, one of them set my house on fire.

I'm sorry i blamed you for it, it wasn't your fault…" Sigyn murmured. It stroke Loki like a flash, suddenly he understood. Sigyn's word explained everything. Why she dressed up like Frigga, why she set him on fire. She wanted revenge.

"Sigyn i'm so sorry…" Loki whispered hoarsely. Sigyn smiled sadly.

"Thanks, but what is done, is done and there is nothing we can do about it." She said. Loki slowly reached for Sigyn's hand, she grabbed it and squeezed it gently.

"It's you and me now, Loki. _Nothing_ can tear us apart." She whispered. But she had no idea how wrong she was…

* * *

When Eir and Aslog reached the palace, Eir walked through the golden doors and rushed along the corridors, together they hurried to the throne room. Odin sat on his throne, he gazed at the two of them and then gave them a nod. They began to tell Odin about their experiences and Eir told him about Loki's condition and that Odin should allow her to take him to the healing rooms. When she uttered Loki's name the Allfather tensed. Eir could tell that something was wrong. She took a step closer to the king.

"My king, what concerns you?" She said with lowered eyes.

"Loki is dead" Odin said as he closed his eyes and let out a sigh. Then he opened his eyes again. He was the king, a king could not let his feelings take over.

When Eir heard the words her jaw dropped. She could not believe it. How could the king just let his own son die? Loki may have done some bad things, but to let his own son die such a painful death like that…

"Why did you not help him?!" Eir asked harshly. Odin suddenly rose up, with anger written on his face.

"Why did _you_ not help him, Eir?! You are suppose to report things like this to me! Instead, you kept quiet and now my son is dead!" Odin boomed. This was not fair! Eir _was_ about to tell the Allfather, but this shadow, dressed as the queen, had dragged her away. She would never let Loki's life slip away like that. Somewhere deep inside, she loved that boy as if he was her son.

She had taught him how to use his magic for medical care, she told him stories and myths about other worlds and the unknown. Loki used to braid Eirs long beautiful hair, he used to help her healing the patients, he always told her about his darkest secrets. Loki trusted her and Eir trusted him. Tears filled Eir's eyes.

"I never got the chance to tell you about Loki's condition!" She spat.

"...Did you not even listen?! I told you before, a mysterious woman dressed as the queen dragged me away and tortured me! It's a miracle i am still alive!" Eir continued. Odin was not moved my Eir's words, he glared with cold eyes upon the healer.

"Do you have any proof that this really happened?" Odin said unemotional.

Eir nodded quickly. "Indeed i have, isn't that right? Aslog?" She said and turned her gaze to the little elf on her left, but she was not there anymore. Eir stared at the empsy spot. Odin muttered something and Eir looked upon him again. She smiled nervously.

"i-if you excuse me, i have to go and look for my little friend." SHe said quickly as she rushed away again. _Where is that little elf when i need her?!_ Eir thought as she searched through the halls…

* * *

As soon as Aslog heard about Loki's death she knew. She knew now what was going on, and she was the only one who could stop it, who could stop Sigyn….

She sneaked out from the throne room and as soon as she reached the corridor she began to run. She hurried through the halls and continued down into Asgards prison.

If she failed, she would put whole Asgard in a terrible danger...


	18. Chapter 18

Sigyn was now on her way out. She'd left Loki a few minutes ago, he needed time alone. As she walked through the dungeons she suddenly saw a group of healers passing her. They walked in Loki's direction. She looked surprised at them as they reached Loki's cage.

Sigyn stopped to watch them.

why are they here? To heal him? Loki is already dead. They know that, everyone does.

But when the healers came out again, they carried a body, Loki's body.

Ah… i see.

Sigyn understood now. The healers was there to take his body away, to prepare it for his funeral. Sigyn suddenly felt sorry for Loki. He wouldn't get a proper funeral. When someone dies, they always put the body in a boat, and then, they send it away across the sea while a archer set the boat on fire with a burning arrow. But for the criminals, they just put the body in a sack along with a heavy stone, then they throw the body in the sea, to let it sink.

That's exactly what they're gonna do with poor Loki. Sigyn felt sorry for him, but on the other hand she was relieved. If they won't burn his body, neither will his spirit be free. He will stay with her, forever. She smiled as she continued to walk.

* * *

Frigga was wrong. As soon as Thor got into his chamber, he grabbed the table and flinged it in the wall. He called for Mjolnir and smashed everything in the room. He bellowed in rage and sorrow. When he was done he collapsed on the floor. Thor could feel the tears brimming in his eyes but he refused to cry. He hugged himself tightly and curled into a little ball.

"No no, Loki no! You can't do this to me! Not again!" Thor murmured as he tried really hard to not let the tears spill over. Why him? Why now? And how?! Suddenly a rage against the guards began to grow. It was their fault, they let his little brother die alone in the dungeons.

Thor couldn't stand the thought of Loki lying in his cell, dying, all alone and hated by everyone. The thought made him cry out. He couldn't stop the tears from streaming down his cheek now. The guards must be punished for this!

Thor suddenly rose up and rushed out into the corridor. He stormed down to the dungeons, but on his way he bumped into a little elf.

Thor stared perplexed on the elf. He was so surprised that he for the moment forgot everything about Loki or to punish the guards. The elf seemed to be perplexed as well. "E-excuse me miss" Thor stammered. The little elf tilted her head and laughed humorlessly.

"Well, I presume excuses are overrated in these days. It's ok." She said. Thor didn't know what to say, so he just stood there and looked stupid. The elf cleared her throat nervously.

"Ehm..You are Thor, aren't you?" She asked, Thor nodded. The elf pondered for a moment and then she seemed to take a decision. She nodded briefly and then looked up to meet Thor's gaze. "Alright, you're coming with me." She said firmly as she began to walk.

Thor stared at her in confusion but slowly began to catch up with her. "Wait! Where are we going? I don't understand" Thor exclaimed.

"Of course you don't…"The elf sighed in annoyance. "Will you at least explain to me?" Thor asked as they turned left in the corridor and continued until they reached the stairs wich led down to the dungeons. There she suddenly stopped and Thor almost bumped into her again. "Hey look, i don't have the time to explain everything now, but i assure you that you will get your answers in time. Asgard is in danger, that's all I can tell you." She said as she began to hurry down the stairs and Thor followed her down.

As they reached the dungeon, Thor suddenly remembered everything about Loki. The anger began to grow again but he took a deep breath and tried to remain calm. The elf mentioned that Asgard was in danger, he needed to have everything under control. But he couldn't help to glare menacing on each guard they passed by.

The elf seemed tensed, like she was nervous or something. Thor couldn't stop wondering

what's going on. Nothing made sense. They continued to walk, but when they reached Loki's cell, the elf stopped. This time, Thor stopped in time to not bump into her. Thor stared into the empty cell, his heart ached as he saw the little empty bed. Some books were piled on the floor. Loki loved to read, Thor remembered that. Thor breathed heavily. How could this happen? He left his bitter little brother for three days, only to come back to a dead one.

How did it happen? Why and how? Loki did not seemed to be sick or anything similar. Had someone killed him? Was he murdered? No… it's impossible! No one can get either in or out here from here.

The elf swore quietly as she gazed into the empty cell. Thor woke up from his thoughts. "What is it? What's wrong?" Thor asked shakily. The elf looked up at Thor and squinted. "The body. It's not there" She confirmed. Thor's eyes filled up with sorrow.

"I-I suppose they're preparing my brother for his funera-" Thor cut off, the word was too painful to utter. Thor's breath hitched, but he tried to not cry.

The elf looked at him with compassion but that compassion was soon replaced with frustration. "Damn it! We need the body! It's the only option I know so far." She hissed. Thor raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"W-why would we need t-the bo..the body" Thor stammered. The elf sat down on her knees and began to draw in the dirt on the floor with her finger.

"Look, let's say this is Loki's dead body..." She began to explain as she drew a stickman.

"...And here is his soul…" She said and drew a little circle above the stickman. "...and here is Hela, and she is supposed to take care of his soul." She continued as she drawed another stickman. "But, there is a problem. You see, Loki still has unfinished business to do. Therefore, Hela is letting him stay, I mean his soul…" She said and drew a barrier around Loki and his soul.

Thor stared at her in disbelief. "I don't understand. Hela would never do such a thing!" Thor exclaimed in confusion. The elf gave him crooked smile. "How do you know? I know the answer; you don't know, no one does. Not even I can be sure what's true and what's not. But there is evidence on my theory." She said superiorly. Thor frowned

"What evidence?" He asked suspiciously. The elf sighed.

"Well.. you know about the weeping bride right?" She said. Thor could not help but laugh when she spoke. "Are you telling me that that story is an evidence? Do you believe in that old ghost story?" Thor laughed. The elf glared at him. "There is more, but i don't have the time to tell you now." She hissed. "Oh, sure you don't have" Thor mocked.

The elf rolled her eyes. "Could you at least help me? For gods sake PRETEND to believe it then! Just .me." She begged . Thor scratched his chin as he thought. What if she was right? And if she was, he couldn't see the problem with it. Thor cleared his throat.

"Okay, let's say it is true, that Loki's spirit still lingers here. Then how could that be a threat to Asgard?" Thor said clearly. The elf sat quiet for a moment before she spoke up.

"Well, the problem is that he probably doesn't even has an unfinished business…" She began.

"What? But what makes him stay then?" Thor exclaimed. "Easy, i'll come to that! Anyway, I think there is another spirit in the picture. This spirit has somehow, managed to tie Loki's spirit. That makes him attached to the place he died in, which make him unable to get out." She continued. "I can not see any danger in that." Thor said and sniffed. The elf sighed and raised up. "Well, that's probably because you can'tthink, can't you?" She said while she wiped the dust off her clothes. She ignored the offended look in Thor's eyes as she continued.

"Well, I suppose you already know about Thanos' and Loki's little alliance?" She said as she looked up at Thor, he nodded.

"...But the thing is, when Loki fell from the bifrost, Thanos found him and bla bla bla you already know all that. But what you didn't knew was that Loki did not immediately accepted Thanos' offer to work for them. So Little naughty Thanos tortured little stupid Loki until he accepted, which of course he did. Wouldn't you?" She asked, but Thor didn't said a word.

He was too busy with the knowledge of that his baby brother had been tortured.

As no answer came, the elf continued. "...Anyway, I'm pretty convinced that Loki promised not to fail, and Thanos promised a punishment if he failed. And surprise surprise, he

failed" She silenced and inhaled deeply. "I'm not quite sure, but..no..yes, i actually am sure that Thanos will return for him. If he is still here in Asgard, even now after death, Thanos will search for him and will probably find him too.

But that would put Asgard in a terrible danger." She said finally.

She looked upon him with searching eyes, she wanted to see Thor's reaction. But Thor was an unreadable mask. "What can we do to stop this?" He said after a long while of silence. The elf tilted her head as she observed Thor as if he was a child.

"I don't know. Our only hope was the body. To set a tied spirit free, you have to burn the body.. or, whatever is left of the body. Not a single piece can be left, that's the only way."

She looked up at Thor with tired eyes as she sat down again, her legs tired of standing still so long. "But now the body is gone! Isn't that just wonderful?! The elf laughed humorlessly.

Thor raised an eyebrow. "I don't see how that could be wonderful." He murmured. The elf stared at him in confusion, then she face palmed. She let out a frustrated growl.

"Well of course it's not, stupid!" She hissed.


End file.
